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BISMARCK 

SOME  SECRET  PAGES  OF  HIS  HISTORY 


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'  /"■■/■  vy^:  /.'/^-.   '- 


BISMARCK 


SOME  SECRET  PAGES  OF  HIS  HISTORY 


being  a  diary  kert  by 
Dr.    MORITZ    BUSCH 

DURING  TWENTY-FIVE   YP:ARS'   OFFICIAL  AND   PRIVATE 
INTERCOURSE   WITH   THE   GREAT   CHANCELLOR 


WITH  PORTRAITS 


IN   TWO   VOLUMES 
VOL.    I 


THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Ltd. 
1898 

AU  r/'i^hts  reserved 


Copyright,  1898, 
By   THK   MAC.MILLAN   COMPANY. 


Nortoooh  ^3rfS8 

J.  S.  Ciii.hiiiX'^  C..-  H.rn;.  k  fc  Smith 
Niirw.,...!  Mm.  l.'.S  A. 


College 
Library 


2/) 


PUBLISHERS'    PREFACE 

The  English  edition  of  Dr.  Busch's  work  which  we  pub- 
lish to-day  has  been  translated  from  the  original  German 
text  in  our  possession.  A  few  passages  have,  however,  been 
omitted  as  defamatory,  or  otherwise  unsuitable  for  publica- 
tion. Dr.  Busch  contemplated  incorporating  bodily  in  the 
first  volume  a  reproduction  of  his  earlier  work :  Prince  Bis- 
marck and  /lis  People  during  the  Franco-German  War,  but 
while  preserving  the  many  valuable  additions  which  he  made 
to  it,  we  have  considerably  abridged  such  portions  as  would 
no  longer  have  presented  any  special  interest  for  English 
readers. 

THE    PUBLISHERS. 


I  ^ 


PREFACE 

The  work  which  I  now  present  to  the  German  people  con- 
tains a  complete  ^  account  of  all  the  events  of  which  I  was  a 
witness  during  my  intercourse  of  over  twenty  years  with  Prince 
Bismarck  and  his  entourage.  Part  of  it  is  not  entirely  new,  as 
I  have  embodied  in  it  portions  of  the  book  published  by  me  in 
1878,  under  the  title:  Prince  Bismarck  and  his  People  during 
the  Franco-German  War.  I  have,  however,  restored  the  numer- 
ous passages  which  it  was  then  deemed  expedient  to  omit,  and 
I  have  also  dispensed  with  the  many  modifications  by  which, 
at  that  time,  certain  asperities  of  language  had  to  be  toned 
down.  The  bulk  of  the  present  work  consists  of  a  detailed 
narrative  of  the  whole  period  of  my  intercourse  with  the  Prince 
both  before  and  after  the  French  campaign.  I  collected  and 
noted  down  all  these  particulars  respecting  Prince  Bismarck 
and  his  immediate  supporters  and  assistants,  in  the  first  place 
for  my  own  use,  and  secondly  as  a  contribution  to  the  character 
and  history  of  the  Political  Regenerator  of  Germany.  The  sole 
object  of  the  diary  which  forms  the  basis  of  this  work  was  to 
serve  as  a  record  of  the  whole  truth  so  far  as  I  had  been  able 
to  ascertain  it  with  my  own  eyes  and  ears.  Any  other  object 
was  out  of  the  question,  as  it  was  impossible  that  I  could  desire 
to  deceive  myself.  Subsequently,  when  I  thought  of  publish- 
ing my  notes,  I  was  fully  conscious  of  my  responsibility  towards 
history,  the  interests  of  which  could  not  be  promoted  by  mate- 
rial that  had  been  coloured  or  garbled  for  party  purposes.  I 
wished  neither  to  be  an  eulogist  nor  a  censor.  To  my  mind, 
panegyric  was  superfluous,  and  fault-finding  was  for  me  an 
impossibility.  A  tendency  to  the  sensational  is  foreign  to  my 
nature,  and  I  leave  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  grand  spec- 

^  Strictly  speaking,  almost  complete,  as  some  passages  must  still  be  omitted  for 
the  present. 


Viii  PREFACE 

tacular  shows  to  lovers  of  the  theatre.  I  desired  to  record  the 
mental  and  other  characteristics  which  our  first  Chancellor  pre- 
sented to  me  under  such  and  such  circumstances,  thus  helping 
to  complete,  and  at  times  to  rectify,  the  conception  of  his  whole 
nature  that  has  been  formed  in  the  public  mind  from  his  politi- 
cal activity.  The  profound  reverence  which  I  feel  for  the 
genius  of  the  hero,  and  my  patriotic  gratitude  for  his  achieve- 
ments, have  not  deterred  me  from  communicating  numerous 
details  which  will  be  displeasing  to  many  persons.  These  par- 
ticulars, however,  are  part  of  the  historic  character  of  the  per- 
sonality whom  I  am  describing.  The  gods  alone  are  free  from 
error,  passion,  and  changes  of  disposition.  They  alone  have 
no  seamy  side  and  no  contradictions.  Even  the  sun  and  moon 
show  spots  and  blemishes,  but  notwithstanding  these  they  re- 
main magnificent  celestial  orbs.  The  picture  produced  out  of 
the  materials  which  I  have  here  brought  together  may  present 
harsh  and  rough  features,  but  it  has  hardly  a  single  ignoble 
trait.  Its  crudeness  only  adds  to  its  truth  to  nature,  its  indi- 
viduality, and  its  clearness  of  outline.  This  figure  does  not  float 
in  an  ethereal  atmosphere,  it  is  firmly  rooted  in  earth  and 
breathes  of  real  life,  yet  it  conveys  a  sense  of  something  super- 
human. It  must  furthermore  be  remembered  that  many  of  the 
bitter  remarks,  such  as  those  made  previous  to  March,  1890, 
were  the  result  of  temporary  irritation,  while  others  were  per- 
fectly justified.  The  strong  self-confidence  manifested  in  some 
of  these  utterances,  and  the  angry  expression  of  that  need  for 
greater  power  and  more  liberty  of  action,  common  to  all  men  of 
genius  and  energetic  character,  arose  from  the  consciousness 
that,  while  he  alone  knew  the  true  object  to  be  pursued  and  the 
fitting  means  for  its  achievement,  his  knowledge  could  not  be 
applied  because  the  right  of  final  decision  on  all  occasions  be- 
longed by  hereditary  privilege  to  more  or  less  mediocre  and 
narrow  minds. 

I  will  allow  the  Prince  himself  to  answer  the  question  as  to 
my  authority  for  communicating  to  others  without  any  reserve 
all  that  I  ascertained  during  my  intercourse  with  him.  "  Once 
I  am  dead  you  can  tell  everything  you  like,  absolutely  every- 
thing you  know,"  said  Prince  Bismarck  to  me  in  the  course  of 
a  conversation  I  had  with  him  on  the  24th  of  February,  1879. 
I    saw  clearly  in   the  way  in  which  he  looked   at  me  that,   in 


PREFACE  ix 

addition  to  the  permission  I  had  already  received  on  previous 
occasions,  he  wished  that  I  should  then  consider  myself  entirely 
free  and  expressly  released  from  certain  former  engagements, 
some  of  which  had  been  assumed  by  myself,  while  others  had 
been  imposed  upon  me.  Since  then  my  knowledge  increased 
owing  to  his  growing  confidence  in  me,  while  his  authorisation 
and  the  desire  that  I  should  use  what  I  knew  to  the  advantage 
of  his  memory  remained  undiminished.  On  the  21st  of  March, 
1 89 1,  during  one  of  my  last  visits  to  Friedrichsruh,  the  Prince 
^apparently  prompted  by  a  notice  which  he  had  read  in  the 
newspapers  —  remarked,  "  Little  Busch  (Biischlein)  will  one 
day,  long  after  my  death,  write  the  secret  history  of  our  time 
from  the  best  sources  of  information."  I  answered,  "  Yes, 
Prince,  but  it  will  not  be  a  history,  properly  speaking,  as  I  am 
not  capable  of  that.  Nor  will  it  be  long  after  your  death  — 
which  we  naturally  pray  to  be  deferred  as  long  as  possible  — 
but  on  the  contrary  very  soon  after,  without  any  delay.  In 
these  corrupt  times,  the  truth  cannot  be  known  too  soon."  The 
Prince  made  no  answer,  but  I  understood  his  silence  to  indicate 
approval.  Finally,  in  the  preceding  year  he  had  affirmed  the 
absolutely  unrestricted  character  of  my  authority.  On  the  15th 
of  March,  1890,  when  the  measures  for  his  dismissal  were 
already  in  progress,  and  he  himself  was  engaged  in  packing  up 
a  variety  of  papers  preparatory  to  his  journey  (a  work  in  which 
I  was  allowed  to  assist  him),  he  asked  me  to  copy  a  number  of 
important  documents  for  him  and  to  retain  the  originals  and 
copies  in  my  possession.  .On  his  remarking  that  I  could  get 
these  documents  copied,  I  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that 
a  stranger  might  betray  their  contents  to  third  parties.  He 
replied  :  "  Oh,  I  am  not  afraid  of  that !  He  can  if  he  likes  !  I 
have  no  secrets  amongst  them  —  absolutely  none."  That  state- 
ment, "  I  have  no  secrets,"  gave  me  liberty,  at  least  for  a  later 
time,  to  publish  those  State  papers  the  contents  of  which  I  had 
hitherto  kept  secret,  as  he  must  unquestionably  have  known 
better  than  I  or  the  rest  of  the  world  who  may  have  held  other 
views  on  the  subject. 

So  far  respecting  the  essential  point.  That  he  whom  I 
honour  as  the  first  of  men  sanctioned  my  undertaking  is  entirely 
sufficient  for  me.  I  do  not  ask  whether  others  give  it  their 
blessing.     The  great  majority  of  those  referred  to  have  since 


X  PREFACE 

departed  from  this  life  and  taken  their  places  in  the  domain  of 
history,  where  the  claim  for  indulgent  treatment  is  no  longer 
valid.  Those  who  are  still  with  us  may  believe  me  when  I 
assure  them  that  in  now  publishing  these  pages  I  have  no 
thought  of  causing  them  pain  or  of  injuring  them  in  any  way. 
I  simply  consider  that  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  preserve  silence  on 
those  matters  which  may  prove  unpleasant  to  them  in  view  both 
of  my  own  duty  to  tell  the  whole  truth,  and  of  the  desire  ex- 
pressed by  the  Chancellor  (to  whom  I  still  feel  myself  bound  in 
obedience)  that  nothing  should  be  concealed.  The  diplomatic 
world,  in  particular,  must  be  represented  here  as  it  really  is.  In 
that  respect  this  book  may  be  described  as  a  mirror  for  diplo- 
matists. 

I  must  leave  the  reader  to  form  his  own  opinion  as  to  my 
capacity  for  observation  and  the  discovery  of  the  truth.  I  may, 
however,  be  allowed  to  say  that  several  long  journeys  in  Amer- 
ica and  the  East,  a  lengthy  tour  in  Schleswig-Holstein  during 
the  Danish  rule,  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitring 
that  country,  and  a  period  of  rather  confidential  intercourse 
with  the  Augustenburg  Court  at  Kiel  were  calculated  to  sharpen 
my  wits.  A  mission  which  I  filled  at  Hanover  during  the  year 
of  transition,  and,  above  all,  my  position  in  the  Foreign  Ofificc 
in  Berlin  and  the  intimate  relations  in  which  I  stood  towards  its 
Chief  during  the  war  with  France,  together  with  the  renewal  of 
that  intercourse  from  1877  onwards,  gave  me  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities of  developing  both  my  memory  and  power  of  observa- 
tion. For  several  years  I  was  acquainted  with  everything  that 
went  on  in  the  Central  Bureau  of  the  German  Foreign  Oflfice, 
and  later,  in  addition  to  what  I  ascertained  through  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Prince,  I  obtained  not  a  little  information  from 
Lothar  Bucher  which  remained  a  secret,  not  only  for  private 
persons,  but  often  for  high  officials  of  the  Ministry. 

The  diary  on  which  my  work  is  based,  and  which  is  often 
reproduced  literally,  gives  the  truest  possible  account  of  the 
events  and  expressions  which  I  have  personally  seen  and  heard 
in  the  presence  and  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Prince.  The  lat- 
ter is  everywhere  the  leading  figure  around  which  all  the  others 
are  grouped.  The  task  I  set  myself,  as  a  close  observer  and 
chronicler  who  conscientiously  sifted  his  facts,  was  to  give  a  true 
account  of  what  I  had  been  commissioned  to  do  as  the  Prince's 


PREFACE  xi 

Secretary  in  connection  with  press  matters,  and  to  describe  how 
he  and  his  entourage  conducted  themselves  during  the  campaign 
in  France,  how  he  lived  and  worked,  the  opinions  he  expressed 
at  the  dinner  and  tea  table,  and  on  other  occasions,  respecting 
persons  and  things  of  that  time,  what  he  related  of  his  past 
experiences,  and  finally,  after  our  return  from  the  great  war, 
what  I  ascertained  respecting  the  progress  of  diplomatic  nego- 
tiations from  the  despatches  which  were  then  exchanged  and  of 
which  I  was  at  liberty  to  make  use  cither  immediately  or  at  a 
later  period.  I  was  assisted  in  the  fulfilment  of  this  task  by  my 
faculty  of  concentration,  which  my  reverence  for  the  Prince  and 
the  practice  which  I  had  in  the  course  of  my  official  duties  ren- 
dered gradually  more  intense,  and  by  a  memory  which,  although 
not  naturally  above  the  average,  was  also  developed  by  constant 
exercise  to  such  a  degree  that  in  a  short  time  it  enabled  me  to 
retain  all  the  main  points  of  long  explanations  and  stories,  both 
serious  and  humorous,  from  the  Chancellor's  lips  almost  liter- 
ally, until  such  time  as  I  could  commit  them  to  paper — that  is 
to  say,  unless  anything  special  intervened,  a  mishap  which  I 
was  usually  able  to  avert.  The  particulars  here  given  were 
accordingly,  almost  without  exception,  written  down  within  an 
hour  after  the  conversations  therein  referred  to  occurred.  For 
the  most  part  they  were  jotted  down  immediately  on  small  slips 
of  paper,  only  the  points  and  principal  catchwords  being  noted, 
but  which  made  it  easy,  however,  to  complete  the  whole  entry 
later  on. 

This  sharp  ear  and  faithful  memory,  joined  with  a  quick 
eye,  stood  me  in  good  stead  in  the  years  of  welcome  service 
which  I  undertook  as  a  private  individual  for  the  Prince.  To 
these  and  to  the  habit  of  putting  all  that  I  had  experienced, 
seen,  and  heard  in  black  on  white  without  delay,  I  owe  the 
accurate  accounts  of  the  memorable  conversation  of  the  nth  of 
April,  1877,  of  the  visit  to  Varzin  and  the  statements  made  by 
the  Chancellor  on  that  occasion,  as  well  as  the  long  list  of  de- 
tailed reports  of  pregnant  and  characteristic  conversations  that 
I  had  with  him  from  the  year  1878  up  to  1890  in  the  palace  and 
garden  at  Berlin  when,  at  times  of  crisis  or  under  other  circum- 
stances, I  was  either  invited  by  the  Prince  or  called  on  him 
without  invitation  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  news  for  the 
Grenzboten  or  foreign  newspapers.     I  kept  up  the  same  habit 


Xll  PREFACE 

of  committing  everything  of  moment  to  paper  during  my  vari- 
ous visits  of  shorter  or  longer  duration  between  the  years  1883 
and  1889  to  Friedrichsruh,  where,  in  the  year  last  mentioned,  I 
was  engaged  for  several  weeks  in  arranging  the  Prince's  private 
letters  and  other  documents.  This  custom  also  served  me  well 
in  that  ever  memorable  week  in  March,  1890,  when  I  spent 
some  of  the  darkest  days  of  that  period  in  the  Prince's  imme- 
diate vicinity,  nor  did  it  fail  me  when  I  again  greeted  him  in 
the  Sachsenwald  in  1891  and  1893,  and  was  able  to  convince 
myself  that  in  the  interval  his  confidence  in  me  had  as  little 
diminished  as  had  my  loyalty  towards  him. 

Whoever  is  familiar  with  the  style  in  which  the  Prince  was 
accustomed  to  express  his  thoughts  when  in  the  company  of 
his  intimate  associates  will  be  at  once  impressed  with  the 
genuineness  of  the  instructions,  conversations,  and  anecdotes 
communicated  in  the  following  pages.  He  will  find  them 
almost  without  exception  literally  reproduced.  In  the  anecdotes 
and  stories,  in  particular,  he  will  nearly  always  observe  the 
characteristic  ellipses,  the  unexpressed  pre-suppositions,  and  the 
manner  in  which  the  Prince  was  apt  to  jump  from  point  to 
point  in  his  narratives,  reminding  one  of  the  style  of  the  old 
ballads.  He  will  also  at  times  note  a  humorous  vein  running 
through  the  Prince's  remarks  and  frequently  become  conscious 
of  a  thread  of  semi-naive  self-irony.  All  these  features  were 
characteristic  of  the  Chancellor's  manner  of  speaking.  It  is 
therefore  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  add  that  my  reports,  with 
all  their  roughness  and  sturdy  ruggedness,  are  photographs 
that  have  not  been  retouched.  In  other  words,  I  believe  that  I 
have  not  only  been  quick  to  observe,  but  I  also  feel  that  I  have 
not  intentionally  omitted  anything  that  was  worth  reproducing. 
I  have  neither  blurred  any  features  nor  brought  others  into  too 
sharp  relief.  I  have  put  in  no  high  lights,  and  above  all  I  have 
added  nothing  of  my  own,  nor  tried  to  secure  a  place  in  history 
for  my  own  wisdom  by  palming  it  off  as  Bismarck's.  Any 
omissions  that  now  remain  (there  can  hardly  be  more  than  a 
dozen  in  all  of  any  importance)  arc  indicated  by  dots  or  dashes. 
In  cases  where  I  have  not  quite  understood  a  speaker,  attention 
is  called  to  the  fact.  Should  any  contradiction  be  discovered 
between  earlier  and  later  statements,  mr  memory  must  not  be 
held  responsible  for  them.     If  I  am  blamed  for  the  fragmentary 


PREFACE  xiii 

character  of  my  recital,  then  all  memoirs  must  be  rejected.  If 
I  am  reproached  with  not  having  produced  a  work  of  art,  I 
believe  I  have  already  made  it  sufficiently  clear  that  I  never 
intended  anything  of  the  kind.  I  desired,  on  the  contrary,  so 
far  as  it  was  in  my  power,  to  serve  the  truth  and  that  alone. 
Nevertheless,  my  work  may  not  only  be  utilised  by  historians, 
but  may  also  possibly  inspire  a  dramatist  or  a  poet.  Such  a 
writer  must,  however,  be  no  sentimentalist,  and  no  idealist.  It 
would  be  wise  for  him  and  for  others  to  let  themselves  be 
guided  by  some  counsels  of  experience  which  will  be  useful  as 
a  warning  against  certain  misunderstandings  both  as  to  the 
sources  of  my  information  and  the  degree  of  my  credulity. 
These  counsels  have  always  been  present  to  my  mind,  although, 
perhaps,  through  a  sense  of  politeness  towards  the  public,  or 
even,  it  may  be,  a  real  confidence  in  their  common  sense,  I 
have  rarely  thought  it  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  fact. 
This  advice  I  propose  to  repeat  here  in  a  general  form  and 
without  any  special  application.  In  the  first  place,  then,  there 
are  people  who  sometimes  really  believe  that  they  have  actually 
said  or  done  that  which  it  was  their  duty  to  say  or  do  in  certain 
circumstances.  Others,  again,  frequently  leave  their  hearers 
to  judge  whether  their  remarks  are  meant  to  be  sarcastic  or 
serious.  Furthermore,  inter  pociila  and  in  foraging  for  news, 
the  meanings  of  words  must  not  be  taken  in  altogether  too 
literal  a  sense,  if  one  does  not  wish  to  make  a  fool  of  himself. 
Although  truth  may  be  found  in  the  bowl,  it  usually  contains 
more  alcohol  than  accuracy;  and  the  scribblers  of  the  press 
very  often  thoughtlessly  accept  appearances  for  realities  when 
they  come  from  "well-informed  circles."  Finally,  even  those 
who  wilfully  mislead  serve  the  truth  in  so  far  as  they  enable 
the  experienced  to  detect  their  falsehood. 

A  good  deal  of  what  I  report  and  describe  will  appear  to 
many  persons  trivial  and  external.  My  view  of  the  matter, 
however,  is  this :  The  trifles  with  which  the  praetor  does  not 
trouble  himself  often  illustrate  the  character  of  a  man  or  his 
temper  for  the  time  being  more  clearly  than  fine  speeches  or 
great  exploits.  Now  and  then  very  unimportant  occurrences 
and  situations  have  been,  as  it  were,  the  spark  which  lit  up  the 
mind  and  revealed  a  whole  train  of  new  and  fruitful  ideas  preg- 
nant with  great  consequences.     In  this  connection  I  may  recall 


xiv  PREFACE 

the  accidental,  and  apparently  insignificant,  origin  of  many 
epoch-making  inventions  and  discoveries,  such  as  the  fall  of  an 
apple  from  a  tree  that  gave  Newton  the  first  impulse  towards 
his  theory  of  gravitation,  the  greatest  discovery  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  ;  the  steam  from  the  boiling  kettle  which  raised 
its  lid  and  ultimately  led  to  the  transformation  of  the  world  by 
the  locomotive  ;  the  brilliant  reflection  of  the  sun  on  a  tin  vessel 
which  transported  Jacob  Boehme  into  a  transcendental  vision  ; 
and  the  spot  of  grease  upon  our  tablecloth  at  Ferri^res  which 
formed  the  starting-point  of  one  of  Prince  Bismarck's  most  re- 
markable conversations.  The  morning  hours  affect  nervous 
constitutions  differently  to  the  evening,  and  changes  of  weather 
depress  or  raise  the  spirits  of  persons  subject  to  rheumatism. 
Indeed,  it  must  be  remembered  that  learned  theories  have  been 
formed  which,  expressed  in  a  plain  and  direct  way,  amount 
roughly  to  this  —  that  a  man  is  what  he  eats.  However  odd 
that  may  sound,  we  really  cannot  say  how  far  such  ideas  are 
wrong.  Finally,  it  appears  to  me  that  everything  is  of  interest 
and  should  receive  attention  which  has  any  relation  to  the  promi- 
nent central  figure  of  the  great  movement  which  resulted  in  the 
political  regeneration  of  our  country  —  to  that  powerful  person- 
ality who,  like  the  angel  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  stirred 
the  stagnant  pool,  and  gave  health  and  life  after  the  lethargy 
and  decay  of  centuries.  I  followed  the  Chancellor's  career 
with  the  eyes  of  a  future  generation.  At  great  epochs  trifles 
appear  smaller  than  they  actually  are.  In  later  decades  and 
centuries  the  contrary  is  the  case.  The  great  events  of  the 
past  bulk  still  larger  in  men's  minds,  while  things  which  were 
regarded  as  unimportant  become  full  of  significance.  It  is  then 
often  a  matter  for  regret  that  it  is  impossible  to  form  as  clear 
and  lifelike  a  picture  of  a  personality  or  an  event  as  one  could 
wish  for  want  of  valuable  material  originally  cast  aside  as  of  no 
account.  There  was  no  eye  to  see  and  no  hand  to  collect  and 
preserve  those  materials  while  it  was  yet  time.  Who  would 
not  now  be  glad  to  have  fuller  details  respecting  Luther  in  the 
great  days  and  hours  of  his  life .'' 

In  a  hundred  years  the  memory  of  Prince  Bismarck  will 
take  a  place  in  the  minds  of  our  people  next  to  that  occupied 
by  the  Wittenberg  doctor.  The  liberator  of  our  political  life 
from  dependence  upon  foreigners  will  stand  by  the  side  of  the 


prei-'acp:  XV 

reformer  who  freed  our  consciences  from  the  oppression  of 
Rome  —  the  founder  of  the  German  State  by  the  side  of  him 
who  created  German  Christianity.  Our  Chancellor  already  holds 
this  place  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  his  countrymen;  his  portrait 
adorns  their  walls,  and  they  inspire  the  growing  generation 
with  the  reverence  which  they  themselves  feel.  These  will  be 
followed  by  the  masses,  and  therefore  I  imagine  I  may  safely 
take  the  risk  of  being  told  that  I  have  preserved,  not  only  the 
pearls,  but  also  the  shells  in  which  they  were  found. 

Many  of  the  Chancellor's  expressions  respecting  the  French 
may  be  regarded  as  unfair  and  even  occasionally  inhuman.  It 
must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  ordinary  warfare  is  calcu- 
lated to  harden  the  feelings,  and  that  Gambetta's  suicidal  cam- 
paign, conducted  with  all  the  passionate  ardour  of  his  nature, 
the  treacherous  tactics  of  his  franctireurs,  and  the  bestiality  of 
his  Turcos,  was  bound  to  raise  a  spirit  in  our  camp  in  which 
leniency  and  consideration  could  have  no  part.  Of  course,  in 
reproducing  and  in  adding  other  and  still  more  bitter  instances 
of  this  feeling,  now  that  all  these  things  have  long  ago  passed 
away,  there  can  be  no  intention  to  hurt  any  one's  feelings.  They 
are  merely  vivid  contributions  to  the  history  of  the  campaign, 
denoting  the  momentary  temper  of  the  Chancellor,  who  was  at 
that  time  sorely  tried  and  deeply  wounded  by  these  and  other 
incidents. 

I  trust  my  reasons  for  including  a  number  of  newspaper 
articles  will  commend  themselves  to  the  reader.  I  do  so  in  the 
first  place  to  show  the  gradual  development  and  change  which 
certain  political  ideas  underwent,  and  the  forms  which  they  as- 
sumed at  various  times.  Furthermore,  the  greater  part  of  them 
were  directly  inspired  by  Prince  Bismarck,  and  some  were  even 
dictated  by  him.  By  mentioning  the  latter  articles  I  hope  to 
do  the  newspapers  in  question  a  pleasure  in  so  far  as  they  will 
now  learn  that  they  once  had  the  honour  of  having  the  most 
eminent  statesman  of  the  century  as  a  contributor.  All  these 
articles  furnish  material  for  forming  an  opinion  upon  the  jour- 
nalistic activity  of  the  Prince,  which  hitherto  only  Wagener  of 
the  Krcti::zeit7ing,  Zitelman,  the  Prince's  amanuensis  during  the 
years  he  spent  as  Ambassador  at  Frankfort,  and  Lothar  Bucher 
were  in  a  position  to  do.  On  the  22nd  of  January,  1871,  the 
Chancellor  himself  remarked,  referring  to  the  importance  of  the 


xvi  PREFACE 

press  for  historians :  "  One  learns  more  from  the  newspapers 
than  from  ofiicial  despatches,  as,  of  course,  Governments  use 
the  press  in  order  frequently  to  say  more  clearly  what  they 
really  mean.  One  must,  however,  know  all  about  the  connec- 
tions of  the  different  papers."  This  knowledge  will  in  great 
part  be  found  in  the  present  work. 

The  reason  for  reproducing  certain  portions  of  my  previous 
writings  in  this  book  is  that  they  are  essential  for  the  purpose 
of  completing  the  character  portrait  given  in  the  diary.  With- 
out them  it  would  be  deficient  in  some  parts,  and  unintelligible 
in  others.  The  reproductions  referred  to  are  in  almost  every 
instance  considerably  altered  and  supplemented  with  additional 
matter,  and  they  now  occupy  a  more  suitable  position  in  the 
work  than  before. 

MORITZ    BUSCH. 

Leipzig,  July  30,  1898. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I 

PAGE 

My  Appointment  as  an  Official  in  the  Foreign  Office,  and  my  First  Audi- 
ence with  Bismarck  —  Worlv  and  Observations  up  to  the  Outbreak 
of  the  War  with  France  ........' 

CHAPTER    n 

Departure  of  the  Chancellor  for  the  Seat  of  War —  I  follow  liim.  at  first 
to  Saarbrucck  —  Journey  from  there  to  the  French  Frontier — The 
Foreign  Office  Flying  Column  .......       48 

CHAPTER    HI 
From  the  Frontier  to  Gravelotte     ........       57 

CHAPTER    IV 
Commercy  —  Bar  le  Due  —  Clermont  en  Argonne  ....       77 

CHAPTER   V 

We  turn  towards  the  North  —  The  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  at 

Rezonville  —  The  Battle  and  Battlefield  of  Beaumont      ...       94 

CHAPTER   VI 
Sedan  —  Bismarck  and  Napoleon  at  Donchery 106 

CHAPTER   VII 

From  the  Meuse  to  the  Marne         .  .  .  .  .         .         .         .122 

CHAPTER    VIII 

Bismarck  and   Favre  at   Haute-Maison  —  A  Fortnight  in  Rothschild's 

Chateau  ...........      143 


XVIU  CONIENTS 


CHAPTKR    IX 

PACK 

The  Journey  to  Versailles  —  Madame  Jesse's  House,  and  our  Life  there      170 


CHAPTER   X 
Autumn  Days  at  Versailles     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .        >     176 

CHAPTER   XI 

Thiers  and  the  First  Negotiations  for  an  Armistice  at  Versailles     .         .     205 

CHAPTER    XH 
Growing  Desire  for  a  Decision  in  Various  Directions      ....     232 

CHAPTER   XIII 

Removal  of  the  Anxiety  respecting  the  Bavarian  Treaty  in  the  Reichs- 
tag—  The  Bombardment  further  postponed    .....     247 

CHAPTER   XIV 
The  Prospects  outside  Paris  improve      .......     279 

CHAPTER    XV 

Chaudordy  and  the  Truth  —  Officers  of  B,ul  Faitii  —  French  Garbling 

—  The  Crown  Prince  dines  with  the  Ciiicl       .....     294 


CH.VPTER    XVI 
First  Week  of  the  Bombardment  . 


321 


CHAi'TJ^R    XVII 
Last  Weeks  before  the  Capitulation  of  Paris  .....     346 

CHAPTER    XVIII 
Diring  the  Negotiations  resj)t.cting  the  Capitulation  of  Paris  .  .     370 

CHAPTI-.R    XIX 

From  Gamljetta's  Resignation  to  the  Conclusion  of  the  Preliminaries  of 

Peace      .         .  .  .         .  .         ■  •  •  ■  •         -415 


COM'KNTS  xix 


CHAi'ri:i'j  XX 

PAGIi 

No.  76  Willu-lmstrasse  —  The  Chancellor's  Residence  and  the  Foreign 
Office  —  The  Chiefs  Official  Surroundings  and  his  Life  at  Home  — 
Bucher  and  Abeken 424 

CHAPTER   XXI 

From  our  Return  from  the  War  up  to  the  Temporary  Discontinuance  of 
my  Personal  Intercourse  with  the  Chancellor  —  Glimpses  of  the 
Diplomatic  World  —  Commissions  for  the  Press      ....     455 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOLUME   I 
Portrait  of  Prince  Bismarck        .....         Frontispiece 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  1885. 

At  Friedrichsruh     .......  Facing  page  i66 

A  Portrait  of  Prince  Bismarck  ....  '•'  334 


BISMARCK 

SOME   SECRET   PAGES   OF    HIS   HISTORY 
CHAPTER    I 

MY  APPOINTMENT  AS  AN  OFFICIAL  IN  THE  FOREIGN  OFFICE,  AND 
MY  FIRST  AUDIENCE  WITH  BISMARCK WORK  AND  OBSERVA- 
TIONS   UP    TO    THE    OUTBREAK    OF    THE    WAR    WITH    FRANCE 

On  February  ist,  1870,  while  living  in  Leipzig  and  engaged 
in  literary  work,  I  received  —  quite  unexpectedly  —  from  Dr. 
Metzler,  Secretary  in  the  Foreign  Office  of  the  North  German 
Confederation,  who  was  at  that  time  occupied  principally  with 
Press  matters  and  with  whom  I  had  been  in  communication 
since  1867,  a  short  note  requesting  me  to  come  to  Berlin  in 
order  to  have  a  talk  with  him.  On  my  arrival  I  ascertained,  to 
my  great  surprise,  that  Dr.  Metzler  had  recommended  me  to 
Herr  von  Keudell,  Councillor  of  Embassy,  who  was  then  in 
charge  of  personal  and  finance  matters  in  the  Foreign  Office, 
for  a  confidential  position  under  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confed- 
eration, which  he,  Metzler  himself,  had  previously  held,  and  in 
which  my  chief  duty  would  be  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of 
the  Chancellor  in  Press  matters.  I  was  to  be  in  immediate 
communication  with  the  Chancellor.  My  position  for  the  time 
being  would  be  what  was  called  "  diatarisch,"  that  is  to  say 
without  any  claim  to  a  pension  and  without  a  title.  Further 
details  were  to  be  arranged  with  Herr  von  Keudell  on  his 
return  from  his  honeymoon.  For  the  moment  I  was  only 
required  to  declare  my  readiness  in  general  to  accept  the  offer, 
and  later  on  I  was  to  formulate  my  wishes  and  lay  them  in 
writing  before  Herr  von  Keudell. 

This  I  did  in  a  letter  dated  February  4th,  in  which  I  empha- 
sised as  the  most  important  condition  that  I  should  be  entirely 

VOL.  I.  —  B  I 


2  MV    IIKSr   INTERVIEW    WITH    BISMARCK  [Fkh.  23 

independent  of  the  Literary  or  Press  Bureau,  and  that  if  my 
capacity  for  the  position  should  not  prove  equal  to  the  expecta- 
tions formed  of  it  I  should  not  be  appointed  an  official  in  that 
department.  On  February  19th  I  heard  from  Metzler  that  my 
conditions  had  been  in  the  main  agreed  to,  and  that  no  objec- 
tions had  been  raised  with  regard  to  that  respecting  the  Liter- 
ary Bureau.  I  was  to  discuss  the  further  arrangements  with 
Keudell  himself,  and  to  be  prepared  to  enter  upon  my  duties  at 
once.  On  February  21st  I  had  a  satisfactory  interview  with 
the  latter,  in  the  course  of  which  we  came  to  an  understanding 
as  to  terms.  On  the  23d  I  was  informed  by  Keudell  that  the 
Chancellor  had  agreed  to  my  conditions,  and  that  he  had 
arranged  for  me  to  call  upon  Bismarck  on  the  following  even- 
ing. Next  day  I  took  the  official  oath,  and  on  the  same 
evening,  shortly  after  8  o'clock,  I  found  myself  in  the  presence 
of  the  Chancellor,  whom  I  had  only  seen  at  a  distance  once 
before,  namely,  from  the  Press  Gallery  of  the  Reichstag.  Now, 
two  years  later,  I  saw  him  again  as  he  sat  in  a  military  uniform 
at  his  writing  table  with  a  bundle  of  documents  before  him. 
I  was  quite  close  to  him  this  time,  and  felt  as  if  1  stood  before 
the  altar. 

He  gave  me  his  hand,  and  motioned  me  to  take  a  seat 
opposite  him.  He  began  by  saying  that  although  he  desired 
to  have  a  talk  with  me,  he  must  for  the  moment  content  him- 
self with  just  making  my  acquaintance,  as  he  had  very  little 
time  to  spare.  "  I  have  been  kept  in  the  Reichstag  to-day 
longer  than  I  expected  by  a  number  of  lengthy  and  tiresome 
speeches;  then  I  have  here  (pointing  to  the  documents  before 
him)  despatches  to  read,  also  as  a  rule  not  very  amusing ;  and 
at  9  o'clock  I  must  go  to  the  Palace,  and  that  is  not  particularly 
entertaining  either.  What  have  you  been  doing  up  to  the 
present  ?"  I  replied  that  I  had  edited  the  Gretizbotcn,  an  organ 
of  practically  National  Liberal  views,  which  I  left,  however,  on 
one  of  the  proprietors  showing  a  disposition  to  adopt  a  Pro- 
gressist policy  on  the  Schleswig-Holstein  question.  The  Chan- 
cellor: "Yes,  I  know  that  paper."  I  then  went  on  to  say  that 
I  had  at  the  instance  of  the  Government  taken  a  position  at 
Hanover,  where  I  assisted  the  Civil  Commissioner,  Herr  von 
Hardenberg,  in  representing  Prussian  interests  in  the  local 
jjrcss   during   the   year  of   transition.     I   had  subsequently,  on 


1S70I  WHAT    MY    \V(JKK    WAS   TO    15E  3 

instructions  received  from  the  Foreign  Office,  written  a  number 
of  articles  for  different  political  journals,  amongst  others  for 
the  Preussischc  Jahrbiiecher,  to  which  I  had  also  previously 
contributed.  Bismarck:  "Then  you  understand  our  politics 
and  the  German  question  in  particular.  I  intend  to  get  you  to 
write  notes  and  articles  for  the  papers  from  such  particulars 
and  instructions  as  I  may  give  you,  for  of  course  I  cannot  my- 
self write  leaders.  You  will  also  arrange  for  others  doing  so. 
At  first  these  will  naturally  be  by  way  of  trial.  I  must  have 
some  one  especially  for  this  purpose,  and  not  merely  occasional 
assistance  as  at  present,  especially  as  I  also  receive  very  little 
useful  help  from  the  Literary  Bureau.  But  how  long  do  you 
remain  here  ?  "  and  as  he  looked  at  his  watch  I  thought  he 
desired  to  bring  the  conversation  to  a  close.  I  replied  that  I 
had  arranged  to  remain  in  Berlin.  Bismarck  :  "  Ah,  very  well 
then,  I  shall  have  a  long  talk  with  you  one  of  these  days.  In 
the  meantime  see  Herr  von  Keudell,  and  also  Herr  Bucher, 
Councillor  of  Embassy,  who  is  well  acquainted  with  all  these 
matters."  I  understood  that  I  was  now  at  liberty  to  go,  and 
was  about  to  rise  from  my  seat  when  the  Chancellor  said  :  "  Of 
course  you  know  the  question  which  was  before  the  House  to- 
day.? "  I  replied  in  the  negative,  explaining  that  I  had  been 
too  busy  to  read  the  reports  in  the  newspapers.  "  Well,"  he 
said,  "  it  was  respecting  the  admission  of  Baden  into  the  North 
German  Confederation.  It  is  a  pity  that  people  cannot  man- 
age to  wait,  and  that  they  treat  everything  from  a  party  stand- 
point, and  as  furnishing  opportunities  for  speech-making. 
Disagreeable  business  to  have  to  answer  such  speeches,  not  to 
say  such  twaddle  !  These  eloquent  gentlemen  are  really  like 
ladies  with  small  feet.  They  force  them  into  shoes  that  are 
too  tight  for  them,  and  push  them  under  our  noses  on  all 
occasions  in  order  that  we  may  admire  them.  It  is  just  the 
same  with  a  man  who  has  the  misfortune  to  be  eloquent.  He 
speaks  too  often  and  too  long.  The  question  of  German  unity 
is  making  good  progress  ;  but  it  requires  time  —  one  year  per- 
haps, or  five,  or  indeed  possibly  even  ten  years,  I  cannot  make 
it  go  any  faster,  nor  can  these  gentlemen  either.  But  they 
have  no  patience  to  wait."  With  these  words  he  rose,  and 
again  shaking  hands  I  took  leave  of  him  for  the  time. 

I  was  thus  enlisted  in  the  ranks  of  Bismarck's  fellow  work- 


4  HOW   I    RECKIVED   MY   INSTRUCTIONS  [Feb.  29 

ers.  An  opportunity  for  the  general  instructions  which  he  pro- 
posed to  give  me  never  occurred.  I  had  to  enter  upon  my  work 
at  once.  Next  evening  I  was  twice  called  in  to  him  to  receive 
instructions  for  articles.  Later  on  I  sometimes  saw  him  still 
more  frequently,  and  occasionally  in  the  forenoon  also — now 
and  then  as  often  as  five  or  even  eight  times  in  one  day.  At 
these  interviews  I  had  to  take  good  care  to  keep  my  ears  well 
open,  and  to  note  everything  with  the  closest  attention,  so  that 
two  pieces  of  information  or  two  sets  of  instructions  should  not 
get  mixed  up.  However,  I  soon  found  myself  equal  to  this 
unusually  trying  task,  as  Bismarck's  opinions  and  instructions 
were  always  given  in  a  striking  form,  which  it  was  easy  to  re- 
member. Besides,  he  was  accustomed  to  repeat  his  principal 
points  in  other  words.  Then,  again,  I  made  myself  all  ears,  so 
that,  through  practice,  I  gradually  succeeded  in  retaining  long 
sentences,  and  even  whole  speeches,  practically  without  omis- 
sions, until  I  had  an  opportunity  of  committing  them  to  paper. 
Bismarck  used  also  to  send  me,  by  one  of  the  messengers,  docu- 
ments and  newspapers  marked  with  the  letter  V  and  a  cross, 
signs  which  indicated  "  Press  Instructions."  When  I  found 
such  papers  on  my  desk,  I  looked  them  through,  and  subse- 
quently obtained  the  Chancellor's  directions  with  regard  to  them. 
Furthermore,  when  I  had  anything  of  importance  to  ask  or  to 
submit  for  his  approval,  I  was  allowed  to  call  upon  him  without 
previous  invitation.  I  thus  practically  occupied  the  position  of 
a  "  Vortragendcr  Rath"  {i.e.,  an  official  having  direct  access  to 
the  Chancellor),  excepting  only  that  I  had  neither  the  title  nor 
the  sense  of  infallibility  common  to  all  such  Councillors. 

The  newspapers  to  which  the  articles  thus  prepared  were 
supplied  were  the  Norddcntschc  Allgcincinc  Zcitioig,  then  edited 
by  Brass,  which  was  the  semi-official  organ,  properly  speaking  ; 
the  SpcncrscJie  Zcitung,  and  the  Xaic  Praissische  Zfitiuij^.  I 
also  frequently  sent  letters  to  the  KochiiscJic  Zcitung,  expressing 
the  Chancellor's  views.  During  the  first  months  of  my  appoint- 
ment, Metzler,  who  had  previously  contributed  to  that  paper, 
served  as  the  medium  for  communicating  these  articles.  Subse- 
quently they  were  sent  direct  to  the  editor,  and  were  always 
accepted  without  alteration.  In  addition  to  this  work  I  saw  one 
ot  the  writers  from  the  Literary  I^urcau  every  forenoon,  and 
.crave  him  material  which  was  sent  to  the  Mafrdcbun:cr  Zcituns; 


1S70]  WORKINC;   TIIK   PRKSS  5 

and  some  of  the  smaller  newspapers;  while  other  members  of 
his  department  furnished  portions  of  it  to  certain  Silesian,  East 
Prussian,  and  South  German  organs.  I  had  similar  weekly- 
interviews  with  other,  and  somewhat  more  independent,  writers. 
Amongst  these  I  may  mention  Dr.  Bock,  who  supplied  articles 
to  the  Augsbnrger  Allgemeinc  Zeitiing,  and  a  number  of  papers 
in  Hanover;  Professor  Constantine  Roeszler,  formerly  Lecturer 
at  Jena,  who  subsequently  assisted  Richthofen  at  Hamburg  and 
afterwards  edited  the  Staatsanzeiger ;  and  finally  Herr  Heide, 
who  had  previously  been  a  missionary  in  Australia  and  was  at 
that  time  working  for  the  North  German  Correspondoice,  which 
had  been  founded  with  a  view  to  influencing  the  English 
press. 

In  addition  to  this  my  duties  also  included  the  reading  of 
masses  of  German,  Austrian,  and  French  newspapers,  which 
were  laid  upon  my  table  three  times  daily,  and  the  management 
and  purchase  of  books  for  the  Ministerial  Library.  It  will 
therefore  be  easily  understood  that  while  the  Chancellor  re- 
mained in  Berlin  I  had  more  than  enough  to  attend  to.  I  was 
engaged  not  only  on  week-days,  but  also  on  Sundays,  from  9 
in  the  morning  until  3  in  the  afternoon,  and  again  from  5  till 
10  and  sometimes  11  o'clock  at  night.  Indeed,  it  sometimes 
occurred  that  a  messenger  from  the  Chancellor  came  at  midnight 
to  call  me  away  from  a  party  of  friends  or  out  of  my  bed  in 
order  to  receive  pressing  instructions. 

I  reproduce  here  in  the  form  in  which  they  appear  in  my 
diary  the  particulars  of  a  number  of  more  or  less  characteristic 
statements  and  instructions  which  I  received  from  the  Chancellor 
at  that  period.  They  show  that  the  statesman  whom  I  had  the 
honour  to  serve  thoroughly  understood  the  business  of  journalism, 
and  they  further  throw  a  welcome  light  upon  many  of  the  politi- 
cal events  of  that  time. 

Some  days  after  the  debate  in  the  Reichstag  respecting  the 
entrance  of  Baden  into  the  North  German  Confederation,  to 
which  reference  has  already  been  made,  and  while  the  matter 
was  still  occupying  both  the  attention  of  the  Press  and  of  the 
Chancellor,  I  find  the  following  entry  among  my  notes  :  — 

February  29///,  evening.  —  Called  to  see  the  Minister.  I  am 
to  direct  special  attention  to  the  nonsense  written  by  the  National 
Liberal  Press  on  the  last  sittino-  of  the  Reichstag.     The  Chan- 


6  THE   SITUATION    L\   FRANCE  [Makch  i 

ccllor  said  :  "  The  National  Liberals  are  not  a  united  party. 
They  are  merely  two  fractions.  Amongst  tlTcir  leaders  Bennig- 
sen  and  Forkenbeck  are  sensible  men,  and  there  are  also  a 
couple  of  others.  Miguel  is  inclined  to  be  theatrical.  Loewe, 
with  his  deep  chest  notes,  does  everything  for  effect.  Me  has 
not  made  a  single  practical  remark.  Lasker  is  effective  in 
destructive  criticism,  but  is  no  politician.  It  sounded  very  odd 
to  hear  him  declare  that  they  were  now  too  much  occupied  with 
Rome  in  Paris  and  Vienna  to  interfere  with  us  in  connection 
with  the  Baden  affair.  If  it  were  possible  to  get  those  of  really 
Progressist  views  to  act  independently,  it  would  make  the  situ- 
ation much  clearer.  Friedenthal's  speech  was  excellent.  I 
must  ask  you  also  to  emphasise  the  following  points  : —  i.  The 
unfairness  of  the  National  ZeAtiDig  in  repeating  misunderstand- 
ings which  I  explained  and  disposed  of  in  my  speech.  2.  The 
make-believe  support  given  to  my  policy  by  men  who  were 
elected  for  the  express  purpose  of  rendering  me  real  assistance. 
3.  That  such  politicians  either  cannot  see  or  intentionally  over- 
look my  principal  motive,  viz.,  that  to  admit  Baden  into  the  Con- 
federation would  bring  pressure  to  bear  upon  Bavaria,  and  that 
it  is  therefore  a  hazardous  step.  Attention  should  be  paid  to 
the  situation  in  France,  so  that  nothing  should  be  done  which 
might  endanger  the  Constitutional  evolution  of  that  country,  an 
evolution  hitherto  promoted  in  every  way  from  Berlin,  as  it  sig- 
nifies peace  for  us.  The  French  Arcadians"  (the  party  that 
supported  Napoleon  through  thick  and  thin)  "are  watching  the 
course  of  events  in  Germany,  and  waiting  their  opportunity. 
Napoleon  is  now  well  disposed  to  us,  but  he  is  very  changeable. 
We  could  now  fight  France  and  beat  her  too,  but  that  war  would 
give  rise  to  five  or  six  others;  and  while  we  can  gain  our  ends 
by  peaceful  means,  it  would  be  foolish,  if  not  criminal,  to  take 
such  a  course.  Events  in  France  may  take  a  warlike  or  revolu- 
tionary turn,  which  would  render  the  present  brittle  metal  there 
more  malleable.  There  was  an  imj)ortant  jx)int  in  my  speech, 
which,  however,  these  good  people  failed  to  recognise.  That 
was  the  intimation  that  in  certain  circumstances  we  should  jiay 
no  regard  either  to  the  views  of  Austria  respecting  South  Ger- 
many as  a  whole,  nor  to  those  of  France,  who  objected  to  the 
admission  of  any  single  South  (jerman  State  into  the  North 
German  Confederation.     That  was  a  feeler.      Further  measures 


iSjo]  TlIK   SOUril    (U'RMAN    STATKS  7 

can  only  be  considered  when   I   know  how  that  hint  has  been 
received  in   Vienna  and   Paris." 

I\IayL!t  \st.  —  Count  Bismarck  wishes  me  to  get  the  following 
inserted  in  the  South  German  newspapers :  —  "  The  sj)eech  of 
von  Freydorf,  the  Grand  Ducal  Minister,  in  the  Baden  Diet  on 
the  Jurisdiction  Treaty  with  the  North  German  Confederation, 
has  been  inspired  by  an  absolutely  correct  view  of  the  situation. 
Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  that  portion  in  which  the 
P\ireign  Minister  of  the  Grand  Duchy  declared  the  policy  of 
Baden  to  be  in  perfect  accord  with  that  of  the  Chancellor  of 
the  North  German  Confederation,  and  also  to  the  manner  in 
which  he  defined  the  position  of  the  South  German  States 
towards  the  Treaty  of  Prague.  Through  the  dissolution  of  the 
old  Germanic  Confederacy,  those  States  have,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  become  sovereign  States.  That  Treaty  gives  them  liberty 
(to  me :  —  Underline  those  words !  )  to  form  a  new  union 
amongst  themselves,  a  South  German  Confederation,  by  means 
of  which  they  may  take  measures  for  bringing  about  a  national 
union  with  the  united  North.  That  Treaty  involves  no  pre- 
scription, engagement,  or  compulsion  whatever  to  adopt  such  a 
course.  Any  insinuation  of  that  kind  with  respect  to  States 
whose  sovereignty  has  been  emphatically  recognised  would  be 
something  absolutely  unheard  of.  In  the  Swiss  war  of  the 
Sonderbund,  and  also  in  the  late  American  civil  war.  States 
were  obliged  against  their  own  will  to  remain  within  a  union 
which  they  had  previously  joined,  but  no  one  ever  saw  a 
sovereign  State  or  Prince  required  to  enter  into  Confederation 
against  their  own  judgment.  The  South  German  States,  in- 
cluding half  of  Hesse,  have  unquestionably  the  right  —  acting 
either  in  concert  or  singly  —  to  endeavour,  in  cooperation  with 
the  North,  to  advance  the  cause  of  national  unity.  The  ques- 
tion is  whether  the  present  is  a  good  time  to  choose.  The 
Chancellor  of  the  North  German  Confederation  answers  this 
question  in  the  negative.  But  it  is  only  possible  by  the  most 
wilful  garbling  of  his  expressions  to  maintain  that  his  final  aim 
is  not  the  union  of  Germany.  Partition  of  German  national 
territory!  Calumny!  Not  a  single  word  of  the  Chancellor's 
justifies  that  conclusion.  As  Herr  Lasker  has  not  spoken  at 
the  instance  of  the  Government  of  Baden,  although  his  speech 
would  almost  convey  the  impression  that  he  was  a  Minister  of 


8  THE   UNION   OF   NORTH   AND   SOUTH  [March  3 

that  State,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  where  he  got  that  idea. 
Perhaps  it  was  merely  the  conceit  of  the  honourable  Member 
that  led  him  to  make  such  a  statement." 

March  "^rd. — The  Minister  wishes  the  KoelniscJie  Zcitnng 
first,  and  afterwards  the  South  German  newspapers,  to  advocate 
the  organisation  into  one  great  party  of  all  men  of  national 
views  in  the  South  German  States,  so  as  to  get  rid  of  the 
particularism  which  had  hitherto  divided  them.  "  The  matter 
lies  much  more  in  their  hands,"  he  said,  "than  in  those  of  the 
North  German  National  Liberals.  The  !^orth  German  Govern- 
ments will  do  all  that  is  possible  in  a  reasonable  way  in  support 
of  the  efforts  of  South  Germany.  But  the  South  Germans  who 
wish  to  unite  with  us  must  act  together  and  not  singly.  I  want 
you  to  reiterate  this  point  again  and  again.  The  article  must 
then  be  printed  in  the  Spoicrschc  Zcitnng  and  in  other  news- 
papers to  which  we  have  access,  and  it  should  be  accompanied 
by  expressions  of  deep  regret  at  the  particularism  which  pre- 
vents the  union  of  the  various  Southern  parties  that  gravitate 
towards  North  Germany.  A  union  of  the  four  Southern  States 
is  an  impossibility,  but  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  the  formation 
of  a  Southern  League  composed  of  men  of  national  sentiments. 
The  National  party  in  Baden,  the  German  party  in  Wiirtem- 
berg,  and  the  Bavarian  Progressist  party  are  merely  different 
names  for  the  same  thing.  These  groups  have  to  deal  with 
different  Governments,  and  some  persons  maintain  that  they 
must  consequently  adopt  different  tactics.  Their  aims  are 
nevertheless  identical  in  all  important  points.  With  the  best 
will  in  the  world  those  three  parties,  while  acting  singly,  pro- 
duce but  a  slight  impression.  If  they  desire  to  go  ahead  and 
become  an  important  factor  in  public  affairs,  they  must  combine 
to  form  a  great  and  homogeneous  South  German  National 
party  which  must  be  reckoned  with  on  both  sides  of  the  Main." 

Read  over  to  the  Minister,  at  his  request,  an  article  which 
he  ordered  yesterday  and  for  which  he  gave  me  the  leading 
ideas.  It  was  to  be  dated  from  Paris,  and  published  in  the 
KoclniscJic  Zcitnng.  lie  said  :  "  Yes,  you  have  correctly  ex- 
pressed my  meaning.  The  composition  is  good  both  as  regards 
its  reasoning  and  the  facts  which  it  contains.  But  no  French- 
man thinks  in  such  logical  and  well-ordered  fashion,  yet  the 
letter  is  understood  to  be  written  by  a  Frenchman.     It  must 


1870J  TlIK    VATICAN    COUNCIL  9 

contain  more  gossip,  and  you  must  pass  more  lightly  from 
point  to  point.  In  doing  so  you  must  adopt  an  altogether 
French  standpoint.  A  Liberal  Parisian  writes  the  letter  and 
gives  his  o])inion  as  to  the  position  of  his  party  towards  the 
German  question,  expressing  himself  in  the  manner  usual  in 
statements  of  that  kind."  (Finally  Count  Bismarck  dictated 
the  greater  part  of  the  article,  which  was  forwarded  by  Metzler 
in  its  altered  form  to  the  Rhenish  newspaper.) 

In  connection  with  this  task  the  Minister  said  to  me  the  day 
before  :  —  "I  look  at  the  matter  in  this  way.  A  correspondent 
in  Paris  must  give  his  opinion  of  my  quarrel  with  Lasker  and 
the  others  over  the  Baden  question,  and  bring  forward  argu- 
ments which  I  did  not  think  it  desirable  to  use  at  that  time. 
He  must  say  that  no  one  could  deem  it  advisable  in  the  present 
state  of  affairs  in  Bavaria,  when  the  King  seems  to  be  so  well 
disposed,  to  do  anything  calculated  on  the  one  hand  to  irritate 
him,  and  on  the  other  to  disturb  the  Constitutional  movement 
in  France  —  which  movement  tended  to  preserve  peace  while 
it  would  itself  be  promoted  by  the  maintenance  of  peace.  Those 
who  desire  to  advance  the  cause  of  liberty  do  not  wish  to  go  to 
war  with  us,  yet  they  could  not  swim  against  the  stream  if  we 
took  any  action  in  South  Germany  which  public  opinion  would 
regard  as  detrimental  to  the  interests  and  prestige  of  France. 
Moreover,  for  the  present  the  course  of  the  Vatican  Council 
should  not  be  interfered  with,  as  the  result  for  Germany  might 
possibly  be  a  diversion.  We  must  wait  for  these  things,"  he 
added.  "I  cannot  explain  that  to  them.  If  they  were  poli- 
ticians they  would  see  it  for  themselves.  There  are  reasons 
for  forbearance  which  every  one  should  be  able  to  recognise ; 
but  Members  of  Parliament  who  cross-question  the  Government 
do  not  usually  regard  that  as  their  duty." 

The  second  portion  of  the  article  which  the  Minister  dictated 
runs  as  follows:  —  "Whoever  has  had  an  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving here  in  Paris  how  diflficult  the  birth  of  the  present 
Constitutional  movement  has  been,  what  obstacles  this  latest 
development  of  French  political  life  has  to  overcome  if  it  is  to 
strike  deep  roots,  and  how  powerful  are  the  influences  of  which 
the  guiding  spirit  only  awaits  some  pretext  for  smothering  the 
infant  in  its  cradle,  will  understand  with  what  anxiety  we  watch 
the    horizon   abroad  and  what  a   profoundly  depressing   effect 


lO  CONSTITUTIONALISM    IN    FRANCE  [Makch  5 

every  little  cloud  there  produces  upon  our  hopes  of  a  secure 
and  peaceful  development  of  the  new  regime.  It  is  the  ardent 
wish  of  every  sincere  adherent  of  the  Constitutional  cause  in 
P'rance  that  there  should  now  be  no  diversion  abroad,  no  change 
on  the  horizon  of  foreign  politics,  which  might  serve,  if  not  as  a 
real  motive,  at  least  as  a  pretext  for  crying  down  the  youthful 
Constitutionalism  of  France,  while  at  the  same  time  directing 
public  attention  to  foreign  relations.  We  believe  that  the 
Emperor  is  in  earnest,  but  his  immediate  entourage,  and  the 
creatures  whom  he  has  to  employ,  are  watching  anxiously  for 
some  event  which  shall  enable  them  to  compel  the  Sovereign  to 
abandon  a  course  which  they  resent.  The  people  are  very 
numerous,  and  have  during  the  eighteen  years  of  the  Emperor's 
reign  grown  more  powerful  than  is  perhaps  believed  outside 
France.  Whoever  has  any  regard  for  the  Constitutional  de- 
velopment of  the  country  can  only  hope  that  no  alteration,  how- 
ever slight,  shall  occur  in  the  foreign  relations  of  France  to  serve 
as  a  motive  or  pretext  for  that  reaction  which  every  opponent 
of  the  Constitution  is  striving  to  bring  about." 

Between  the  directions  for  these  articles,  which  I  here  bring 
together  as  they  relate  to  the  same  subject,  I  received  others, 
some  of  which  I  may  also  reproduce. 

Marcli  ^(h.  —  The  Boersen  Zcitung  contained  an  article  in 
which  it  was  alleged  that  in  Germany  only  nobles  were  con- 
sidered competent  to  become  Ministers.  This  the  Count  sent 
down  to  mc  to  be  refuted  in  a  short  article,  expressing  surprise 
at  such  a  statement.  "  An  absurd  electioneering  move !  "  the 
Chancellor  said.  "  Whoever  wishes  to  persuade  the  world  that 
in  Prussia  the  position  of  Minister  is  only  open  to  the  aristocracy, 
and  that  capable  commoners  have  absolutely  no  chance  of  at- 
taining to  it,  must  have  no  memory  and  no  eyes.  Say  that 
under  Count  Bismarck  no  less  than  three  commoners  have,  on 
his  recommendation,  been  appointed  Ministers  within  a  short 
period,  namely  Delbrueck,  Leonhard,  and  Camphausen.  Lasker, 
it  is  true,  has  not  yet  been  appointed." 

I  wrote  this  short  article  immediately;  but  the  Chancellor 
was  not  pleased  with  it.  "  I  told  you  expressly,"  he  said,  "  to 
mention  the  names  of  Dcll^rucck,  Leonhard,  and  Camphausen, 
and  that  their  appointments  were  due  to  mv  jiersonal  influence. 
'"t  >   straight   to  the   point,  and  don't  wander  round  about  it  in 


1870]  CAriTAL   PUXISIIMKNT  II 

that  way !  That  is  no  use !  A  pointless  article  !  They  are 
just  the  cleverest  of  the  present  Ministers.  The  attack  on 
Lasker  is  also  out  of  place.  We  must  not  provoke  people  un- 
necessarily. They  are  right  when  they  complain  of  bullying." 
The  reference  to  Lasker  consisted  merely  in  his  own  words  as 
given  above. 

March  ^tJi.  —  The  VossiscJic  Zeitiing  zovXinw^iS.  a  bitter  attack, 
which  culminated  in  the  following  remark  :  —  "  Exceptional  cir- 
cumstances—  and  such  must  be  acknowledged  to  e.xist  when 
working-men  are  treated  to  breech-loaders,  and  Ministers  are 
hanged  on  street  lamps  —  cannot  be  taken  as  a  rule  for  the 
regular  conduct  of  affairs."  The  Count  received  this  article 
from  the  Literary  Bureau  of  the  Ministry  of  State  (where  ex- 
tracts from  the  newspapers  were  made  for  him),  although  it 
might  well  have  been  withheld,  as  not  much  importance  attaches 
to  the  scoldings  of  "  Tante  Voss."  The  Count  sent  for  me,  read 
over  the  passage  in  question,  and  observed  :  —  "  They  speak  of 
times  when  Ministers  were  hanged  on  street  lamps.  Unworthy 
language  !  Reply  that  such  a  thing  never  occurred  in  Prussia, 
and  that  there  is  no  prospect  of  its  occurring.  In  the  mean- 
time it  shows  towards  what  condition  of  affairs  the  efforts  of 
that  newspaper  are  tending,  which  (under  the  auspices  of  Jacoby 
and  Company)  supplies  the  Progressist  middle  classes  of  Berlin 
with  their  politics." 

Called  in  again  later  to  the  Count.  I  am  to  go  to  Geheim- 
rath  Hahn  and  call  his  attention  to  the  question  of  capital  pun- 
ishment, which  in  view  of  the  approaching  elections  should  be 
dealt  with  in  the  P rovincial-Corrcspondcnz  in  accordance  with 
the  policy  of  the  Government,  who  desire  its  retention.  The 
Minister  said:  —  "I  am  firmly  convinced  that  the  majority 
of  the  population  is  opposed  to  its  abolition.  Were  it  other- 
wise it  would  of  course  be  possible  to  do  away  with  it.  It  is 
a  mere  theory  —  the  sentimentality  of  lawyers  in  the  Reichstag 
—  a  party  doctrine  which  has  no  connection  with  the  life  of  the 
people,  although  its  advocates  are  constantly  referring  to  the 
people.  Tell  him  that,  but  be  cautious  in  dealing  with  him. 
He  is  somewhat  conceited — bureaucratic.  Do  it  in  a  diplomatic 
way.  You  must  let  him  think  that  those  are  his  own  ideas. 
Otherwise  we  shall  not  get  anything  useful  out  of  him.  Let 
me  know  afterwards  what  he  says." 


12  AKCHUUKE   ALHREiJUT    IN    I'ARIS  [  Makcii   12 

MarcJi  6t/i.- — -Have  seen  Hahn.  He  is  of  opinion  that  it  is 
yet  too  early  to  deal  with  this  matter.  It  will  probably  end 
in  a  compromise,  capital  punishment  being  only  retained  for 
murder.  The  attitude  of  the  Liberals  in  the  elections  can 
only  be  influenced  after  the  decision  in  the  Reichstag.  In 
the  meantime  he  has  instructed  the  Literary  Bureau  to  refute  the 
article  in  the  Actional  ZcitiDig,  and  to  show  how  sterile  the 
present  Parliament  would  be  if  it  allowed  the  long-wishcd-for 
Criminal  Code  to  be  wrecked  upon  this  question  of  capital  pun- 
ishment. Report  this  to  the  Minister.  He  is  of  opinion  that 
Hahn  is  mistaken.  "  It  is  necessary  to  act  in  a  diplomatic  way 
in  this  case,"  he  observed.  "  One  must  present  an  appearance 
of  determination  up  to  the  last  moment ;  and  if  one  wants 
to  secure  a  suitable  compromise,  show  no  disposition  to  give 
way ;  besides,  Hahn  must  have  no  other  policy  than  mine.  I 
shall  speak  to  Eulenberg,  and  get  him  to  set  Hahn  .straight. 
This  must  be  put  down  at  once.  We  must  think  in  good  time 
about  the  elections." 

Marcli  'J til.  —  Sent  Brass  {NorddeutscJic  Allgcincinc  Zcitnng) 
an  article  written  by  Bucher  under  instructions  from  the  Min- 
ister, showing  that  the  majority  in  the  Reichstag  does  not  repre- 
sent public  opinion  nor  the  will  of  the  people,  but  only  the 
opinions  and  desires  of  the  Parliamentary  party. 

Called  to  the  Count  in  the  evening,  when  he  said :  —  "I 
want  you  to  secure  the  insertion  in  the  press  of  an  article 
somewhat  to  the  following  effect :  —  For  some  time  past  vague 
rumours  of  war  have  been  current  throughout  the  world  for 
which  no  sufficient  ground  exists  in  fact,  or  can  be  even  sug- 
gested. The  explanation  is  probably  to  be  sought  in  Stock 
I^xchange  speculation  for  a  fall  which  has  been  started  in  Paris. 
Confidential  whispers  are  going  about  with  regard  to  the  pres- 
ence of  Archduke  Albrecht  in  the  P^rench  capital  which  are  cal- 
culated to  cause  uneasiness  ;  and  then,  naturally  enough,  these 
rumours  are  shouted  aloud  and  multiplied  by  the  windbags  of 
the  Guelj^h  press." 

March  wtJi.  —  The  Count  wants  an  article  in  the  Natiojinl 
Zcitung  to  be  answered  in  this  sense:  —  "The  Liberals  in 
I'arliament  always  identify  themselves  with  the  i:)eople.  They 
maintain,  like  Louis  XIV.  with  his  LWtat  c'est  vioi,  that  *  We 
:iic  the   People.'     There  could  hardly  be  a  more  absurd  piece 


iSjoJ  HKL'ST    AND    11  IK    VATICAN  1 3 

of  boasting  and  exaggeration.  As  if  the  other  representatives, 
the  Conservatives  in  the  country,  and  the  great  numbers  who 
belong  to  no  party,  were  not  also  part  of  the  nation,  and 
had  no  opinions  and  interests  to  which  regard  should  be 
paid  !  " 

Evening.  — -  The  Minister,  referring  to  a  statement  in  the 
Norddcittschc  Allgcmcine  Zeitnng,  remarked:  —  "There  is  much 
ado  about  the  decided  attitude  taken  up  by  Beust  against  the 
Curia.  According  to  the  report  published  by  Brass  he  has 
expressed  himself  very  emphatically  respecting  its  latest  action, 
in  a  note  which  the  Ambassador  read  to  the  Secretary  of  State. 
That  must  be  refuted,  weakened.  Do  it  in  a  letter  from  Rome 
to  the  Koclnischc  Zcitnng.  Say :  — '  We  do  not  know  if  the 
analysis  of  the  despatch  in  question  (which  has  made  the  round 
of  the  papers,  and  which  was  first  published  by  the  Times)  is 
correct,^  but  we  have  reason  to  doubt  it.  Trautmansdorf  (the 
Austrian  Ambassador  to  the  Holy  Sec)  has  read  no  note  and 
has  received  no  instructions  to  make  any  positive  declaration, 
but  is  on  the  contrary  acting  in  accordance  with  his  own  con- 
victions —  and  it  is  known  that  he  is  very  clerical  and  not  at  all 
disposed  to  radical  measures.  He  has  communicated  to  Car- 
dinal Antonelli  such  parts  of  the  information  that  reached  him 
from  Vienna  as  he  thought  proper,  and  he  certainly  made  that 
communication  in  as  considerate  a  form  as  possible.  It  cannot 
therefore  have  been  very  emphatic." 

Later.  —  Attention  is  to  be  directed,  at  first  in  a  paper 
which  has  no  connection  with  the  Government,  to  the  prolonged 
sojourn  of  Archduke  Albrecht  in  Paris  as  a  suspicious  symptom. 
In  connection  with  it  rumours  have  been  circulated  in  London 
of  an  understanding  between  France  and  Austria.  Our  papers 
should  afterwards  reproduce  these  hints. 

Mar'ch  \2tJ1.  —  In  the  afternoon  Bucher  gave  me  the  chief's 
instructions  to  order  the  Spanish  newspaper,  Imparcial.  (This 
is  of  some  importance,  as  it  doubtless  indicates  that  even  then 
we  had  a  hand  in  the  question  of  electing  the  new  king.     On 

^  The  despatch  was  understood  to  contain  a  sentence  to  the  effect  that  Rome 
should  take  care  not  to  challenge  Europe,  and  that  whatever  the  Church  might  say, 
the  Austrian  Courts  of  Justice  would  not  allow  themselves  to  be  influenced  into 
according  any  indulgence  towards  those  who  broke  the  laws  or  instigated  others  to 
do  so. 


14  LABOUR    IMPOSED    UPON    PARLIAMENT  [  Makch  25 

several  occasions  subsequently  I  secured  the  insertion  in  non- 
official  German  papers  of  translations  which  Bucher  brought 
me  of  articles  in  that  newspaper  against  the  candidature  of 
Montpensier.) 

iMa?rh  I'^th. — The  Chancellor  wishes  to  have  it  said  in  one 
of  the  "  remote  "  journals  (that  is,  not  notoriously  connected 
with  the  Government)  that  the  Pope  has  paid  no  regard  to  the 
representations  of  France  and  Austria  respecting  the  principal 
points  which  should  be  decided  by  the  Council.  He  would  not 
have  done  so  even  if  those  representations  had  been  expressed 
in  a  more  emphatic  form  than  they  actually  were.  Neither 
Banncville  nor  Trautmansdorf  w^as  inclined  to  heartily  defend 
the  cause  of  the  State  against  the  Ultramontanes.  This  dis- 
poses of  the  news  of  the  Memorial  Diplomatique  to  the  effect 
that  at  the  suggestion  of  Count  Daru  the  Curia  has  already 
given  an  affirmative  answer.  That  report  is  absolutely  false, 
as  is  nearly  all  the  news  published  by  the  paper  in  question. 
It  is  much  the  same  with  Count  Beust's  note  to  the  Papal 
Government.  ("Quote  the  word  'note,'"  added  the  Min- 
ister.) It  was  only  a  despatch,  and,  doubtless,  a  very  tame 
one. 

March  \6t/i.  Evening.  —  Called  up  to  the  Minister,  who 
lay  on  the  sofa  in  his  study.  "  Here,"  he  said  (pointing  to  a 
newspaper).  "  They  complain  of  the  accumulation  of  labour 
imposed  upon  Parliament.  Already  eight  months'  hard  work ! 
That  must  be  answered.  It  is  true  that  members  of  Parliament 
have  a  great  deal  to  do,  but  Ministers  are  still  worse  off.  In 
addition  to  their  work  in  the  two  Diets  the  latter  have  an 
immense  amount  of  business  to  transact  for  the  King  and  the 
country  both  while  Parliament  is  sitting  and  during  the  recess. 
Moreover,  members  have  the  remedy  in  their  own  hands.  If 
those  who  do  not  belong  to  the  Upper  Chamber  will  abstain 
from  standing  for  election  both  to  the  Prussian  and  the  Federal 
Diet  they  will  lighten  their  task  sufficiently.  They  arc  not 
obliged  to  sit  in  both  houses." 

March  21st.  —  I  am  to  call  attention  in  the  semi-official 
oigans  to  the  fact  that  the  Reichstag  is  discussing  the  Criminal 
Code  far  too  minutely  and  slowly.  "The  sj^cakers,"  observed 
the  Count,  "  show  too  great  a  desire  for  mere  talk,  and  arc  too 
toiul  <.f  details  and  liair-sjilitting.     If  this  continues  the  Bills  will 


1870]  rilK   (JllKMAN    DlSllol'S    AND   THL;    VAIKAN  15 

not  be  disposed  of  in  the  present  session,  especially  as  the 
Budget  has  still  to  be  discussed.  The  President  might  well 
exercise  stricter  control.  Another  unsatisfactory  feature  is  that 
so  many  members  absent  themselves  from  the  sittings.  Our 
ne\vsj)apers  ought  to  publish  regularly  lists  of  such  absentees. 
Please  see  that  is  done." 

Called  up  again  later  and  commissioned  to  explain  in  the 
press  the  attitude  of  Prussia  towards  those  Prelates  who  oppose 
the  Curia  in  Rome.  The  Chancellor  said:  —  "The  newspapers 
express  a  desire  that  the  Government  should  support  the  Ger- 
man Bishops  on  the  Council.  You  should  ask  if  those  writers 
have  formed  a  clear  idea  as  to  how  we  should  set  about  that 
task.  Should  Prussia  ])erhaps  send  a  Note  to  the  Council,  or 
to  Antonelli,  the  Papal  Minister,  who  does  not  belong  to  that 
body .''  or  is  she  to  secure  representation  in  that  assembly  of 
Prelates,  and  protest  (of  course  in  vain)  against  what  she  objects 
to.''  Prussia  will  not  desert  those  Bishops  who  do  not  submit 
themselves  to  the  yoke,  but  it  is  for  the  Prelates  in  the  first  place 
to  maintain  a  determined  attitude.  We  cannot  take  preventive 
measures,  as  they  would  be  of  no  value,  but  it  is  open  to  us  to 
adopt  a  repressive  policy  in  case  a  decision  is  come  to  in  oppo- 
sition to  our  wishes.  If,  after  that  decision  has  been  arrived  at, 
it  should  prove  to  be  incompatible  with  the  mission  and  inter- 
ests of  the  State,  then  existing  legislation,  if  found  inadequate, 
can  be  easily  supplemented  and  altered.  The  demand  that  the 
Prussian  Government  should  support  the  more  moderate  Bishops 
is  a  mere  empty  phrase  so  long  as  no  practical  means  of  giving 
effect  to  it  can  be  discovered.  Moreover,  the  course  which  I 
now  indicate  will  in  any  case  be  ultimately  successful,  although 
success  may  not  at  once  be  completely  achieved." 

Ularch  2^th.  — The  Chief  wishes  Klaczko's  appointment  in 
Vienna  to  be  discussed.  He  said  to  me: — "Beust  intends  in 
that  way  to  revive  the  Polish  question.  Point  to  the  journalistic 
activity  of  that  indefatigable  agitator,  and  to  his  bitter  hatred 
both  of  ourselves  and  Russia.  Quote  Rechenberg's  confidential 
despatch  of  the  2nd  of  March  from  Warsaw,  where  he  says  that 
the  Polish  secret  political  societies  which  are  engaged  at  Lem- 
berg  in  preparing  for  a  revolution,  with  the  object  of  restoring 
Polish  independence,  have  sent  a  deputation  to  Klaczko  con- 
gratulating him  on  his  appointment  to  a  position  where  he  is  in 


l6  THE   VATICAN   AND   THE  CATHOLIC   POWKKS       [Makch  5 

direct  communication  with  the  Chancellor  of  the  Empire.  Send 
the  article  first  to  the  Koclnischc  Zcitioig,  and  afterwards  arrange 
for  similar  articles  in  the  provincial  newspapers.  We  must 
finally  see  that  this  reaches  Reuss  (the  Ambassador  in  St.  Peters- 
burg), in  order  that  he  may  get  it  reproduced  in  the  Russian 
press.  It  can  also  appear  in  the  Krciizseitnng,  and  it  must  be 
brought  up  again  time  after  time  in  another  form." 

Afternoon.  —  Geheimrath  Abeken  desires  me,  on  the  in- 
structions of  the  Minister,  to  take  note  of  the  following  docu- 
ment, which  is  apparently  based  on  a  despatch:  —  "It  is 
becoming  more  and  more  difificult  to  understand  the  attitude 
of  the  Austrian  Government  towards  the  Council.  All  the 
organs  of  public  opinion  are  on  the  side  of  the  Austrian  Bishops, 
who  are  making  such  a  dignified  and  decisive  stand  in  Rome- 
The  reports  which  the  Government  thought  well  to  allow  the 
press  to  publish  respecting  the  steps  which  they  have  taken 
in  Rome  were  in  harmony  with  this  attitude.  The  news  from 
Rome,  however,  speaks  only  of  the  tameness  and  indecision 
with  which  the  Government's  policy  is  being  carried  into  execu- 
tion. The  most  contradictory  accounts  are  now  coming  in.  It 
is  said  that  the  Austrian  Ambassador  has  supported  the  action 
of  the  French  Ambassador,  which  is  known  not  to  have  been 
very  effective.  Expressions  have  been  attributed  to  Count 
Beust  showing  that,  in  his  opinion,  the  only  effectual  course 
would  be  for  all  the  Powers  to  take  common  or  collective  action. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  asserted  that  he  gave  a  negative  answer, 
reciting  different  objections,  to  the  proposal  of  another  Catholic 
State  (Bavaria)  to  join  it  in  a  decisive  declaration  in  Rome.  In 
presence  of  this  indecision  on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  Powers 
the  Bishops  will  doubtless  be  obliged  to  follow  their  own  con- 
sciences and  decide  for  themselves  what  their  course  of  action 
is  to  be.  We  are  convinced  however  that  if  the  Prelates  them- 
selves resolved  to  make  a  determined  stand  on  behalf  of  their 
consciences,  the  situation  would  immediately  undergo  a  chance 
in  their  favour,  and  that  ultimately  no  Gf)vernment  would  desert 
its  own  Bishops  even  if  they  were  in  a  minority. 

"  Bismarck  has  already  explained  to  the  Prussian  Am- 
bassador in  Paris  that  he  is  prej)ared  to  support  every  initiative 
taken  on  the  Catholic  side  in  the  matter  of  the  Council.  He  at 
;.!ie  same  time  discussed  the  su])ject  with  Benedetti,  exj^ressing 


iSyoJ  FRANCK   AND   THE   VATICAN  1 7 

himself  in  a  similar  sense,  but  in  the  meantime  making  no  posi- 
tive proposal.  On  the  other  hand,  he  asked  incidentally  whether 
it  might  not  be  desirable  to  consider  in  a  general  conference  the 
attitude  to  be  adopted  by  the  various  Governments  towards  the 
Council.  Benedetti  replied  that  such  a  course  would  only  hasten 
the  Council's  decision.  Bismarck  urged  that  a  conference  might 
be  useful,  even  were  it  no  longer  possible  to  influence  the  Coun- 
cil, and  were  the  question  to  be  considered  merely  how  far  the 
injurious  effects  of  its  decisions  on  the  peace  of  Church  and 
State  could  be  minimised. 

"  Benedetti  sent  a  report  of  this  informal  conversation  to 
Paris,  representing  it  as  a  proposal  to  hold  a  conference.  Daru 
replied  in  a  despatch  which  pointed  out  the  difficulty  of  carrying 
that  idea  into  execution.  Who  should  take  part  in  the  confer- 
ence ?  Russia  maintained  such  an  unfriendly  attitude  towards 
the  Catholic  Church,  and  Italy  was  so  hostile  to  the  Curia,  that 
they  could  hardly  join  in  any  common  action.  Spain  wished 
to  confine  herself  to  the  repression  of  any  eventual  breach  of 
the  laws  of  the  country,  and  England  ignored  the  official  declara- 
tions of  the  Roman  Church.  Many  Powers  had  Concordats, 
while  others  occupied  a  more  independent  position  towards  the 
Curia ;  therefore,  in  that  respect  also,  an  understanding  would  be 
difficult.  Finally,  Daru  feared  that  Rome,  on  hearing  of  an  in- 
tended conference,  would  reply  with  a  fait  accompli.  For  these 
reasons  he  declined  the  proposal.  He  would,  however,  like  to 
afford  the  other  Powers  an  opportunity  of  supporting  the  meas- 
ures taken  by  France  on  her  own  initiative.  In  case  he  received 
a  negative  answer  to  his  demand  that  France  should  be  repre- 
sented on  the  Council,  he  would  officially  communicate  to  the 
other  Governments  his  declaration  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
Cardinal  Antonelli,  that  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  State 
would  be  defended  against  any  encroachment  on  the  part  of  the 
Spiritual  Power,  and  urge  them  to  support  his  action  in  Rome. 
Bismarck  thanked  Daru  for  this  communication,  and  said  that 
the  Government  at  Berlin  (when  it  had  satisfied  itself  that  such 
a  course  on  the  part  of  France  was  calculated  to  promote  the 
interests  of  Prussian  Catholics)  would  endeavour  to  strengthen 
the  impression  made  thereby ;  and  that  further  communications 
were  awaited  with  interest. 

"  The  French  Government   looks    forward  with  anxiety  to 

VOL.  I.  —  c 


l8  ENGLISH    "L1I5ERAL1SM"    IN    IRELAND  [Makcii  30 

the  consequences  of  the  Council,  but  hesitates  to  take  any  seri- 
ous and  decisive  measures,  and  is  not  disposed  to  enter  upon 
any  common  action  with  the  other  Powers.  Bray,  at  Munich, 
seemed  less  disinclined  to  such  a  course.  He  thought  a  dec- 
laration might  possibly  be  made  that  the  Government  consid- 
ered the  oecumenical  and  authoritative  character  of  the  Council 
to  be  affected  by  the  promulgation  of  the  dogma  of  infallibility 
notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  a  minority  of  the  Bishops,  as 
also  the  legal  position  assured  to  the  Prelates  under  the  Con- 
cordats, and  that  the  dogma  in  question  was  to  be  regarded  as 
null  and  void.  Bray  was  anxious  that  Austria  should  join  in 
this  declaration.  Beust,  however,  would  not  consent,  as  he  be- 
lieved that  such  a  declaration  would  merely  induce  the  Council 
to  come  to  an  unanimous  decision  which  would  then  be  binding 
upon  the  Governments.  An  unequivocal  attitude  of  any  kind 
is  not  to  be  expected  from  Vienna. 

"  If  the  Catholic  Governments  will  not  take  the  initiative,  the 
question  remains  what  course  the  Bishops  themselves  will  adopt. 
We  hold  to  the  principle  of  not  acting  directly  and  in  our  own 
name  with  the  Roman  See,  while  at  the  same  time  powerfully 
and  steadfastly  supporting  every  effort  made  by  the  Catholics 
themselves,  and  particularly  by  the  German  Bishops  to  prevent 
illegal  changes  being  made  in  the  constitution  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  to  preserve  both  Church  and  State  from  a  disturb- 
ance of  the  peace.  We  do  not  find  ourselves  called  upon  to 
take  up  a  prominent  attitude  towards  the  Council,  but  our 
readiness  to  support  energetically  every  well-meant  effort  of  the 
Catholic  Powers,  whose  duty  it  is  to  intervene  in  the  first  place, 
or  of  the  Bishojis  within  Council,  remains  unaltered." 

Evening.  —  I  am  to  refer  to  England  and  the  way  in  which 
the  press  is  treated  there.  "The  Liberals  always  appeal  to 
English  example  when  they  want  to  secure  some  fresh  liberty 
for  the  press.  Such  appeals,  it  is  well  known,  rest  largely  upon 
mistaken  notions.  It  would  be  desirable  to  examine  more 
closely  the  Bill  which  has  just  been  passed  for  the  preservation 
of  order  in  Ireland.  What  would  jiublic  ojtinion  in  German)', 
and  particularly  what  would  the  i)cople  of  Berlin  say,  if  our 
Government  could  proceed  against  any  of  our  democratic  jour- 
nals, even  against  the  most  violent,  according  to  the  following 
provisions,  and  that  too  v.ithout  even  a  state  of  minor  siege  .' 


1870]  THE  (ECUMENICAL   COUNCIL  1 9 

Then  quote  the  provisions,  and  add  that  the  Bill  was  carried  by 
a  large  majority."  ^ 

March  2Zth.  —  The  Chancellor  desires  that  the  question  of 
the  Council  should  be  again  dealt  with  somewhat  to  the  follow- 
ing effect :  —  "  The  Press  has  repeatedly  expressed  a  desire  to 
know  what  position  will  be  taken  by  Prussia  towards  the  policy 
of  the  majority  of  the  Council,  and  several  proposals  have  been 
made  in  this  connection.  In  our  opinion  the  answer  to  that 
question  is  to  be  found  in  the  character  of  Prussia  as  a  Protes- 
tant Power.  In  that  capacity  Prussia  must  leave  the  initiative 
in  this  matter  to  the  Catholic  Governments,  who  are  more 
directly  threatened.  If  these  do  not  take  action  the  question 
remains  what  course  the  Bishops  who  form  the  minority  in  the 
Council  will  adopt,  a  question  which  will  be  answered  by  the 
immediate  future.  If  the  Catholic  Governments  decide  to  take 
steps  against  the  majority  of  the  Council,  Prussia  ought  to  join 
in  that  action  if  she  considers  it  to  be  in  the  interests  of  her 
Catholic  subjects.  But  it  is  less  the  duty  of  Prussia  than  of 
any  other  State  to  rush  into  the  breach.  ...  If  the  Bishops 
defend  the  constitution  of  their  Church,  their  episcopal  rights, 
and  peace  between  Church  and  State  in  a  fearless  and  deter- 
mined protest  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Ultramontane 
party  in  the  Council,  it  may  then  be  confidently  hoped  that  the 
Prussian  Government  will  extend  to  them  a  powerful  support." 

Some  of  the  last  sentences  repeated  almost  literally  the  con- 
clusion of  the  document  brought  to  me  by  Abeken. 

March  30///.  —  The  Count  sent  down  a  report  from  Rome 
for  use  in  the  press.  This  report  says:  —  "The  tourists  who 
visited  St.  Peter's  on  the  22nd  instant  were  several  times  dis- 
turbed by  a  dull  noise  which  rolled  through  the  aisles  like  a 
storm,  proceeding  from  the  direction  of  the  Council  Chamber. 
Those  who    remained  a  little  longer  saw  individual   Bishops, 

1  At  that  time  it  had  only  been  accepted  by  the  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  —  without  any  important  amendments,  however,  and  its  adoption  on  a 
third  reading  was  assured.  It  is  true,  objections  were  raised.  Gladstone  very  char- 
acteristically observed  that  the  law  now  only  empowered  the  Administration  to  pro- 
ceed against  incitements  to  treasonable  action;  it  was,  however,  necessary  to  pro- 
vide for  the  punishment  of  attempts  by  the  press  to  create  a  "treasonable  state  of 
miud  "  amongst  the  people.  The  solii  concession  made  by  the  Government  was  that 
the  threatened  measures  should  not  be  put  into  execution  until  v.arning  (once  only) 
had  been  given. 


20  A   SCENE   IN    ST.    PETER'S  [April  i 

with  anxious  looks,  hurriedly  leave  the  church.  There  had  been 
a  terrible  scene  amongst  the  reverend  fathers.  The  theme  de 
erroribns,  which  was  laid  before  the  Council  about  three  weeks 
ago  and  then  returned  to  the  Commission,  was  again  being  dis- 
cussed in  an  amended  form.  This  discussion  had  now  lasted 
five  or  six  (eight)  days.  Strossmayer  criticised  one  of  the  para- 
graphs of  the  Proemium  which  characterised  Protestantism  as 
the  source  of  all  the  evils  which  now  infect  the  world  in  the 
forms  of  pantheism,  materialism,  and  atheism.  He  declared 
that  this  Proemium  contained  historical  untruths,  as  the  errors 
of  our  time  were  much  older  than  Protestantism.  The  Hu- 
manist movement,  which  had  been  imprudently  protected  by  the 
highest  authority  (Pope  Leo  X.)  was  in  part  responsible  for 
them.  The  Proemium  lacked  the  charity  due  to  Protestants. 
(First  uproar.)  It  was,  on  the  contrary,  amongst  Protestants 
that  Christianity  had  found  its  most  powerful  defenders,  such  as 
Leibnitz  and  Guizot,  whose  meditations  he  should  wish  to  see  in 
the  hands  of  every  Christian.  (Renewed  and  increased  uproar, 
while  closed  fists  are  shown  at  the  speaker,  and  cries  are  heard 
of  '  Ilaercticus  es  !  Taceas  !  Dcsccndas  !  Omncs  te  condcin- 
namus  r  and  now  and  then  'Ego  cum  7ion  condcmno  !')  This 
storm  also  subsided  and  Strossmayer  was  able  to  proceed  to 
another  point,  namely,  the  question  to  which  the  Bishops  re- 
ferred in  their  protest,  that  is  to  say,  that  a  unanimous  vote  is 
indispensable  for  decisions  on  dogma.  Strossmayer's  remarks 
on  this  theme  caused  the  indignation  of  the  majority  to  boil 
over.  Cardinal  Capalti  interrupted  him.  The  assembly  raged 
like  a  hurricane.  After  a  wordy  war  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour's 
duration  between  the  speaker  and  the  Legates,  Strossmayer 
retired,  three  times  repeating  the  words  :  'Protestor  non  est  con- 
cilium.' It  is  worthy  of  note  that  a  Congregation  has  been  held 
to-day  at  which  the  Bishop  of  Halifax  and  others  are  under- 
stood to  have  expressed  views  similar  to  those  of  Strossmayer 
and  that  no  attempt  was  made  to  interrupt  them.  It  would 
therefore  appear  as  if  the  storm  raised  "against  the  Bishop  of 
Bosnia  were  a  party  mancx'uvre  with  the  object  of  ruining  the 
most  important  of  the  Princes  of  the  Church." 

March  31^/.  —  Commissioned  by  the  Chief  to  tell  Zitelmann 
(an  official  of  the  Ministry  of  State  in  charge  of  press  matters) 
that  the  newspaper  extracts  which  his  office  j)rej)ares  for  sub- 


1870]  Till-:   HkiriSH    MINISTER    IN    MUNICH  21 

mission  to  the  King  (through  the  Minister)  should  be  better 
sifted  and  arranged.  Those  that  are  suitable  for  the  King  arc 
to  be  gummed  on  to  separate  sheets  and  detached  from  those 
that  arc  not  suitable  for  him.  Particularistic  lies  and  stupidi- 
ties, such  as  those  from  Kiel  of  the  25th  and  Cassel  of  the  28th, 
belong  to  the  latter  category  and  must  not  be  laid  before  him. 
If  he  sees  that  kind  of  thing  printed  in  black  on  white,  he  is  apt 
to  believe  it.     He  does  not  know  the  character  of  those  papers. 

I  am  to  secure  the  insertion  in  the  press  of  the  following 
particulars,  which  have  reference  to  a  paragraph  in  a  newspaper 
which  the  Minister  did  not  name  to  me.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  Howard,  the  English  representative  at  Munich,  although 
he  is  married  to  a  Prussian  lady  (Schulenberg),  exercises,  in 
opposition  to  the  views  of  his  own  Government,  a  decidedly  anti- 
Prussian  influence,  not  so  much  in  a  pro-Austrian  as  in  a  Guelph 
sense.     He  was  Minister  at  Hanover  up  to  the  events  of  1866. 

April  1st.  —  The  Minister's  birthday.  When  I  was  called  to 
him  in  the  evening,  his  room  was  perfumed  with  flowers  presented 
to  him.  He  lay  on  the  sofa,  booted  and  spurred,  smoking  a 
cigar,  and  reading  newspaper  extracts.  After  receiving  my 
instructions,  I  offered  my  congratulations,  for  which  he  thanked 
me,  reaching  me  his  hand.  "  I  hope,"  he  said,  "  we  shall  remain 
together  for  a  very  long  time."  I  replied  that  I  hoped  so  too, 
that  I  could  find  no  words  to  say  how  happy  I  felt  to  be  near 
him,  and  to  be  able  to  work  for  him.  "  Well,"  he  answered, 
smiling,  "  it  is  not  always  so  pleasant,  but  you  must  not  notice 
every  little  thing." 

My  instructions  referred  to  Lasker  and  Hoverbeck.  They 
were  as  follows  :  —  "  Just  take  Lippe  —  Lasker  as  your  subject 
for  once.  Lasker  has,  it  is  true,  been  taken  to  task  for  one  of 
his  latest  utterances  by  Bennigsen,  the  chief  of  his  fraction,  but 
it  can  do  no  harm  to  deal  with  the  affair  once  more  in  the 
press  —  and  repeatedly.  He,  like  Lippe,  wants  the  Constitution 
to  be  placed  above  our  national  requirements.  Les  extremes  se 
toucJient.  Lippe  is  the  representative  of  the  Particularistic  Jun- 
kers with  the  tendency  to  absolutism,  Lasker  that  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary Junkers  with  Particularistic  leanings.  Vincke,  who  was 
just  such  another,  succeeded,  with  his  eternal  dogmatism,  in 
ruining  and  nearly  destroying  a  great  party  in  a  few  months, 
notwithstanding:    favourable    circumstances.      Please    send    the 


22  LIBER.\L    PARIICULARISM  [April  6 

article  to  the  Norddeutsche  Allgemeiuc  Zcitiing  for  publication, 
and  let  it  be  afterwards  reproduced  in  another  form  by  the 
Literary  Bureau."  .  .  . 

April  Atth. — It  was  well  that  I  carried  out  the  Minister's 
orders  at  once.  On  being  called  to  him  this  morning  he 
received  me  with  the  words:  "I  asked  you  recently  to  write 
an  article  on  the  subject  of  Lippe  and  Lasker.  Have  you 
done  so  ? "  I  replied  :  "  Yes,  Excellency,  and  it  has  already 
appeared.  I  did  not  submit  it  to  you,  as  I  know  that  you  see 
the  Norddeutsche  daily."  He  then  said :  "  I  have  had  no  time 
as  yet,  I  will  look  it  up  immediately." 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I  was  again  sent  for,  and  on  appear- 
ing before  him  the  Minister  said:  "I  have  now  read  the 
article  —  it  was  amongst  the  extracts.  It  is  excellent,  exactly 
what  I  wished.  Let  it  now  be  circulated  and  reproduced  in 
the  provincial  journals.  In  doing  so  it  may  be  further  re- 
marked that  if  Count  Bismarck  were  to  charge  Lasker  and  his 
fraction  with  Particularism  —  I  do  not  mean  all  the  National 
Liberals,  but  principally  the  Prussians,  the  Lasker  group  —  the 
accusation  would  be  well  founded.  Lippe  has  also  laid  down 
the  principle  that  the  Prussian  Diet  is  independent  of  the 
Federal  Diet." 

The  Minister  then  continued:  —  "Here  is  the  Koehiische 
Zeitung  talking  of  excitability.  It  alleges  that  I  have  mani- 
fested an  excitability  which  recalls  the  period  of  'conflict.' 
That  is  not  true.  I  have  merely  repelled  passionate  attacks  in 
the  same  tone  in  which  they  were  delivered,  according  to  the 
usual  practice  in  Parliament.  It  was  not  Bismarck  but  Lasker 
and  Hoverbeck  who  took  the  initiative.  They  began  again 
with  offensive  jiersonal  attacks  and  I  begged  of  them  in  a 
friendly  way  not  to  return  to  that  style.  Ask  whether  the 
writer  had  not  read  the  report  of  the  sitting,  as  it  showed  that 
it  was  not  Count  Bismarck  who  picked  this  quarrel.  Apart 
from  its  pleadings  on  behalf  of  the  claims  of  Denmark,  the 
Koehiische  Zeitung  was  a  sensible  newspaper.  What  had 
Count  Bismarck  done  to  it  that  it  should  allow  its  correspond- 
ents to  send  such  a  garbled  account  of  the  facts.  Moreover, 
Bcnnigsen  had  reprimanded  Lasker.  They  now  themselves 
recognised  that  the  tone  they  adopted  was  wrong,  as  Lasker 
came  to  me  on  Saturday  to  excuse  himself." 


iSyoJ  TIIF,   (^)UHSriON    OF   NORTH    SCIILKSWIO  23 

April  GtJi. —  Under  insliuctions  (rum  the  Minister  I  dictated 
the  foUowinj^  lKuagra})h  to  Doerr  for  circulation  through  the 
Literary  Iku'eau  :  —  "The  position  of  the  Bishops  who  form 
the  opposition  in  the  Council  does  not  appear  to  be  satisfactory, 
if  one  may  judge  from  the  attitude  of  the  Catholic  Govern- 
ments and  particularly  of  the  Vienna  CabineL  Probably  Count 
Beust  has  not  yet  made  up  his  mind  in  this  matter.  He  seems 
to  have  sent  somewhat  energetic  remonstrances  to  the  Ambas- 
sador in  Rome,  but  it  is  obvious  that  Count  Trautmansdorf  has 
delivered  them  in  a  very  diluted  form.  According  to  certain 
newspapers,  the  Austrian  Chancellor  has  also  endeavoured  to 
bring  about  a  common  action  of  the  Powers,  while  others  report 
an  incident  which  renders  it  doubtful  whether  any  such  attempt 
has  been  made.  The  French  also  maintain  an  attitude  of 
exceptional  prudence  and  reserve,  and  the  Bishops  would  thus 
appear  to  stand  well-nigh  alone.  .  .  .  The  initiative  must 
come  from  the  Bishops  themselves." 

Between  the  6th  and  the  loth  of  April  I  wTote  an  article  on 
the  question  of  North  Schleswig  from  the  Minister's  instruc- 
tions. This  attracted  great  attention  on  its  publication  in  the 
NorddcntscJie  Allgcmcine  Zeihing,  principally  on  the  ground 
that  there  seemed  to  be  no  occasion  for  its  appearance  at  a 
time  when  the  political  horizon  was  absolutely  clear.  (It  may 
possibly  have  arisen  through  a  Russian  reminder  and  approval 
of  the  pretended  claims  of  Denmark.)  The  article  was  to  the 
following  effect :  —  "It  is  a  wilful  falsehood  to  maintain  that 
according  to  the  peace  of  Prague  the  population  of  North 
Schleswig  has  to  decide  the  question  of  the  frontier.  Prussia 
alone,  and  no  one  else,  is  authorised  to  do  that.  Moreover,  the 
Treaty  of  Prague  does  not  mention  North  Schleswig  at  all,  but 
only  refers,  quite  vaguely,  to  the  northern  districts  of  Schles- 
wig, which  is  something  quite  different.  The  parties  to  the 
Treaty  were  not  called  upon,  and  as  the  wording  selected  by 
them  proves,  never  intended  to  deal  with  any  such  conception 
as  '  North  Schleswig,'  and  have  not  even  used  that  term.  But 
the  Danes  and  their  friends  have  so  long  and  so  persistently 
endeavoured  to  make  the  world  believe  that  paragraph  5  of  the 
Treaty  stipulated  for  the  cession  of  North  Schleswig  that  they 
have  come  to  believe  it  themselves. 

"  The  Prussians  alone   have  to  decide  as  to  the    extent  of 


24  FRENCH    MANNERS  [May  28 

those  districts.  Prussia  has  no  further  political  interest  in 
negotiating  with  Denmark  if  the  latter  is  not  content  with  the 
concessions  which  the  former  is  prepared  to  make.  F'inally, 
only  Austria  has  a  right  to  demand  that  the  matter  shall  be 
settled  in  any  form.  .  .  .  If  Prussia  and  Austria,"  so  concluded 
the  Minister's  directions,  "  now  come  to  an  understanding  as 
to  cancelling  that  paragraph  of  the  Treaty,  —  probably  on  the 
basis  of  further  concessions  on  the  part  of  Prussia,  —  absolutely 
no  one  has  any  right  to  object."  Two  articles  were  to  be  written 
on  this  subject,  one  for  the  Norddeiitsche  Allgemeine  Zeitung, 
in  which  the  reference  to  Austria  was  to  be  omitted,  and  one 
for  the  Spencrsche  Zeitung,  which  was  to  contain  it. 

April  \2th. — The  Count  desires  to  have  an  article  written 
for  the  Koclnischc  Zcitimg,  part  of  which  he  dictated  to  me. 
It  ran  as  follows:  —  "The  Cotistittitiotmel  speaks  of  the 
way  in  which  French  manners  are  being  corrupted  by  for- 
eign elements,  and  in  this  connection  it  mentions  Princess 
Metternich  and  Madame  Rimsky-Korsakow.  It  would  require 
more  space  than  we  can  afford  to  this  subject  to  show  in 
its  true  light  all  the  ignorance  and  prejudice  exhibited  by 
the  writer  of  this  article,  who  has  probably  never  left  Paris. 
Princess  Metternich  would  not  act  in  Vienna  as  she  is  repre- 
sented by  the  Coiistitiitionnel  to  have  acted  in  Paris ;  and 
Madame  Rimsky-Korsakow  is  not  a  leader  of  society  in  St. 
Petersburg.  The  contrary  must  be  the  case.  Paris  must  be 
responsible  if  the  two  ladies  so  conduct  themselves,  and  exer- 
cise such  an  influence,  as  the  French  journal  asserts  they  do. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  the  idea  that  Paris  is  the  home  and  school 
of  good  manners  is  now  only  to  be  met  with  in  other  countries, 
in  old  novels,  and  amongst  elderly  people  in  the  most  remote 
parts  of  the  provinces.  It  has  long  since  been  observed,  and 
not  in  European  Courts  alone,  that  the  present  generation  of 
r'renchmen  do  not  know  how  to  behave  themselves.  In  other 
circles  it  has  also  been  remarked  that  the  young  I-^renchman 
does  not  compare  favourably  with  the  youth  of  other  nations, 
or  with  those  few  countrymen  of  his  own  who  have,  far  from 
Paris,  preserved  the  traditions  of  good  P'rench  society.  Trav- 
ellers who  have  visited  the  country  at  long  intervals  are  agreed 
in  declaring  that  the  forms  of  jjolite  intercourse,  and  even  the 
conventional  exj^rcssions  for   which    the    P^rench    language    so 


1S70]  rUANCE   "A    UKCADKNT   NATION"  2$ 

long  served  as  a  model,  arc  steadily  falling  into  disuse.  It  is 
therefore  quite  conceivable  that  the  Empress  Eugenie,  as  a 
sensitive  Spaniard,  has  been  painfully  affected  by  the  tone  and 
character  of  Parisian  society,  but  it  would  show  a  lack  of  judg- 
ment on  her  part  if,  as  stated  by  the  Constitiitionncl,  she  sought 
for  the  origin  of  that  evil  abroad.  But  we  believe  we  are  justi- 
fied in  directly  contradicting  that  statement,  as  we  know  that 
the  Empress  has  repeatedly  recommended  young  Germans  as 
models  for  the  youth  of  France.  The  French  show  themselves 
to  be  a  decadent  nation,  and  not  least  in  their  manners.  It 
will  require  generations  to  recover  the  ground  they  have  lost. 
Unfortunately,  so  far  as  manners  are  concerned,  all  Europe  has 
retrograded." 

From  the  13th  of  April  to  the  28th  of  May  I  did  not  see  the 
Minister.  He  was  unwell,  and  left  for  Varzin  on  Easter  Eve. 
It  was  said  at  the  Ministry  that  his  illness  was  of  a  bilious 
character,  and  was  due  to  the  mortification  he  felt  at  the  con- 
duct of  the  Lasker  fraction,  together  with  the  fact  that  he  had 
spoilt  his  digestion  at  a  dinner  at  Camphausen's. 

On  the  2 1st  of  May  the  Minister  returned  to  Berlin,  but  it 
was  not  until  seven  days  later  that  I  was  called  to  him.  He 
then  gave  me  the  following  instructions  :  —  "  Brass  (the  Nord- 
dctitscJic  Allgemcine  Zeittmg)  must  not  plead  so  strongly  for  the 
Austrians  nor  speak  so  warmly  of  the  Government  of  Napoleon. 
In  the  case  of  Austria  we  have  to  adopt  a  benevolently  expec- 
tant attitude,  yet  the  appointment  of  Klaczko  and  his  connec- 
tion with  the  Ministry  is  for  us  a  suspicious  symptom.  The 
appointment  of  Grammont  to  the  French  Foreign  Ofifice  is  not 
exactly  agreeable  to  us.  The  Czechs  must  be  treated  with  all 
possible  consideration ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  deal 
with  the  Poles  as  with  enemies." 

I  afterwards  asked  as  to  his  health.  He  said  he  still  felt 
weak,  and  would  not  have  left  Varzin  if  things  had  not  looked 
so  critical  in  Parliament.  As  soon  as  things  were  once  more  in 
order  there,  he  would  be  off  again,  if  possible  on  an  early  day, 
in  order  to  undertake  a  cure  with  Karlsbad  water,  going  to 
some  seaside  resort. 

On  being  called  to  the  Count  on  Whitsunday  I  found  him 
highly  indignant  at  the  statement  of  a  correspondent  of  the 
KocbiiscJie  Zeitung,  who  reported  that  there  was  a  scarcity  of 


26  WORKING    UP  THE   SPANISH   QUESTION  [July  8 

labour  in  the  Spandau  cartridge  factory.  "  Therefore  unusual 
activity  in  the  preparation  of  war  material!"  he  said.  "If  I 
were  to  have  paid  two  visits  to  the  King  at  Ems  it  w-ould  not 
cause  so  much  anxiety  abroad  as  thoughtless  reports  of  this 
kind.  Please  go  to  Wehrmann  and  let  him  ascertain  at  the 
Ministry  of  War  if  they  are  responsible  for  that  article,  and  if 
possible  get  them  to  insert  a  correction  in  the  Koelnische  Zci- 
tiing  or  in  the  Norddcutsche,  as  it  must  appear  in  an  influential 
paper." 

A  diary  entry  on  an  undated  slip  of  paper,  but  written  in 
May :  "  Bohlen  yesterday  bantered  Bucher  about  his  '  Easter 
mission,'  which  appears  to  have  been  to  Spain." 

On  the  8th  of  June  the  Minister  again  left  Berlin  for 
Varzin. 

Immediately  on  the  commencement  of  the  difficulties  with 
France  respecting  the  election  to  the  Spanish  throne  of  the 
Hereditary  Prince  of  Hohenzollern,  letters  and  telegrams  began 
to  arrive,  which  were  forwarded  by  Bucher  under  instructions 
from  the  Chief.  These  consisted  in  part  of  short  paragraphs 
and  drafts  of  articles,  as  well  as  some  complete  articles  which 
only  required  to  be  retouched  in  the  matter  of  style,  or  to  have 
references  inserted  with  regard  to  matters  of  fact.  These 
directions  accumulated,  but  owing  to  the  spirit  and  energy  in- 
spired by  the  consciousness  that  we  were  on  the  eve  of  great 
events,  and  that  it  was  an  honour  to  cooperate  in  the  work, 
they  were  promptly  dealt  with,  almost  all  being  disposed  of  on 
the  day  of  their  arrival.  I  here  reproduce  some  of  these  in- 
structions, the  order  of  the  words  and  expressions  in  the  de- 
ciphered telegrams  being  slightly  altered,  while  the  remainder 
are  given  exactly  as  they  reached  me. 

July  jth,  evening.  —  A  telegram  to  me  from  Varzin  :  —  "The 
semi-official  organs  should  indicate  that  this  does  not  seem  to  be 
the  proper  time  for  a  discussion  of  the  succession  to  the  Spanish 
throne,  as  the  Cortes,  who  are  alone  entitled  to  decide  tiie  ques- 
tion, have  not  yet  spoken.  German  Governments  have  always 
respected  Spanish  independence  in  such  matters,  and  will  do  so 
in  future,  as  they  have  no  claim  or  authority  to  interfere  and  lay 
down  regulations  for  the  Spaniards.  Then,  in  the  non-official 
press,  great  surprise  should  be  expressed  at  the  presumption  of 
the  P'rench,  who  have  discussed  the  question  very  fully  in  the 


1S70J  FRANCE   AND   SPAIN  2/ 

Chamber,  speaking  as  if  that  assembly  had  a  right  to  dispose  of 
the  Spanish  throne,  and  apparently  forgetting  that  such  a  course 
was  as  offensive  to  Spanish  national  pride  as  it  was  conducive 
to  the  encouragement  of  Republican  tendencies.  This  may  be 
safely  construed  into  a  further  proof  of  the  false  direction  which 
the  personal  regime  is  taking.  It  would  appear  as  if  the 
Emperor,  who  has  instigated  this  action,  wanted  to  see  the  out- 
break of  a  new  war  of  succession." 

A  letter  from  Bucher,  which  was  handed  to  me  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  8th  of  July,  further  developed  the  idea  contained  in 
the  last  sentence  of  the  foregoing  telegram.  This  letter  ran :  — 
"Previous  to  1868  Eugenie  was  pleased  to  play  the  part  of  an 
obedient  subject  to  Isabella,  and  since  the  September  revolution 
that  of  a  gracious  protectress.  She  unquestionably  arranged 
the  farce  of  the  abdication,  and  now,  in  her  rage,  she  incites  her 
consort  and  the  Mmisters.  As  a  member  of  a  Spanish  party 
she  would  sacrifice  the  peace  and  welfare  of  Europe  to  the  in- 
trigues and  aspirations  of  a  corrupt  dynasty. 

"  Please  see  that  this  theme,  a  new  war  of  succession  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  is  thoroughly  threshed  out  in  the  press. 
The  subject  is  inviting,  especially  in  the  hands  of  a  correspond- 
ent disposed  to  draw  historical  parallels,  and  more  particularly 
parallels  ex averso.  Have  the  French  not  had  experience  enough 
of  Spain  with  Louis  XIV.  and  Napoleon,  and  with  the  Due 
d'Angouleme's  campaign  for  the  execution  of  the  decrees  of 
the  Verona  Congress.''  Have  they  not  excited  sufficient  hatred 
by  all  those  wars  and  by  the  Spanish  marriage  of  1846.'' 

"  Bring  personal  influence  to  bear  as  far  as  possible  on  the 
Editors  who  have  been  intimidated  by  the  Stock  Exchange, 
representing  to  them  that  if  the  German  press  takes  up  a  timid 
and  hesitating  attitude  in  presence  of  the  rhodomontades  of  the 
French,  the  latter  will  become  more  insolent  and  put  forward 
intolerable  demands  in  other  questions  affecting  Germany  still 
more  closely.  A  cool  and  determined  attitude,  with  a  touch 
of  contempt  for  those  excited  gentlemen  who  would  like  to 
slaughter  somebody  but  do  not  exactly  know  whom,  would  be 
the  most  fitting  means  for  putting  an  end  to  this  uproar  and 
preventing  serious  complications." 

Bucher  added :  "  Protestants  were  still  sent  to  the  galleys 
under  the  Spanish  Government  which  was  overthrown  in  i865J." 


28  THE  DUG   DE   (IKAM MONT'S    SPEECH  [Jui.v  9 

Another  communication  of  Bucher's  from  Varzin  of  the  same 
date  runs :  —  "  The  precedents  furnished  by  Louis  Philippe's 
refusal  of  the  Belgian  throne  on  behalf  of  the  Due  de  Nemours, 
in  183 1,  on  the  ground  that  it  would  create  uneasiness,  and  by 
the  protest  which  England  would  have  entered  against  the 
marriage  of  the  Due  de  Montpensier  to  the  sister  of  Queen 
Isabella,  are  neither  of  them  very  applicable,  as  the  Prince  of 
Hohenzollern  is  not  a  son  of  King  William  but  only  a  remote 
connection,  and  Spain  does  not  border  on  Prussia." 

The  following  was  a  third  subject  received  from  Varzin  on 
the  same  day  :  "  Is  Spain  to  inquire  submissively  at  the  Tuileries 
whether  the  King  whom  she  desires  to  take  is  considered  satis- 
factory ?  Is  the  Spanish  throne  a  French  dependency  ?  It  has 
already  been  stated  in  the  Prussian  speech  from  the  throne  that 
our  sole  desire  in  connection  with  the  events  in  Spain  was  that 
the  Spanish  people  should  arrive  at  an  independent  decision  for 
the  maintenance  of  their  own  prosperity  and  power.  In  France, 
where  on  other  occasions  so  much  is  said  of  national  indepen- 
dence, the  attempt  of  the  Spanish  people  to  decide  for  themselves 
has  immediately  revived  the  old  diplomatic  traditions  which  led 
to  the  Spanish  war  of  succession  160  years  ago." 

On  the  same  day,  the  8th  of  July,  a  telegram  was  also 
received  from  the  Chancellor  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  and  it 
was  handed  to  me  for  my  information.  It  was  to  the  following 
effect :  —  "I  have  now  before  me  in  the  despatch  of  Count 
Solms  the  official  text  of  the  Due  de  Grammont's  speech,  and  I 
find  his  language  more  brusque  and  presumptuous  than  I  had 
anticipated.  I  am  in  doubt  whether  that  is  due  to  stupidity  or 
the  result  of  a  decision  taken  beforehand.  The  probability  of 
the  latter  alternative  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  the  noisy  demon- 
strations which  will  most  likely  render  it  impossible  for  them  to 
draw  back.  I  am  reluctant  to  protest  officially  against  Gram- 
mont's speech  on  international  grounds,  but  our  press  should 
attack  it  very  severely,  and  this  should  be  done  in  as  many 
newspapers  as  possible." 

July  C)th.  —  A  telegram  from  Bucher  to  the  Secretary  of 
State  saying  that  the  direction  to  the  press  to  deal  with  Gram- 
mont's sj)eech  in  very  strong  language  is  not  to  apply  to  the 
Xorddetitschc  Allgi'»iiiiir  Zcititiii^. 

Another   telegr;ini    of    the    same    date    to    Thile,  which    he 


1870J  INSTRUCnoNS    UiN    THE   .Si'AMSll   {jUEbi'ION  29 

brought  to  me  :  "  Any  one  intending  to  summon  a  Congress  to 
deal  with  a  debatable  question  ought  not  first  to  threaten  a  war- 
like solution  in  case  the  opposite  party  should  not  agree  to  his 
wishes." 

Further,  the  Secretary  of  State  handed  me  a  telegram  from 
Berlin  to  the  Chancellor,  which  was  returned  by  the  latter  with 
comments.  I  was  to  get  these  circulated  in  the  non-official 
journals.  The  telegram  was  to  the  effect  that  Grammont  had 
stated,  in  reply  to  an  interpellation  by  Cochery,  that  Prim  had 
offered  the  Spanish  throne  to  the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Hohen- 
zollern  (Remark:  "  He  can  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  Only  the 
Cortes."),  and  that  the  Prince  had  accepted  it.  (Remark  :  "  He 
will  only  declare  himself  after  he  has  been  elected.")  The 
Spanish  people  has  not  yet,  however,  expressed  its  wishes. 
(Remark:  "That  is  the  main  point.")  The  French  Govern- 
ment do  not  recognise  the  negotiations  in  question.  (Remark: 
"  There  are  no  negotiations  excepting  those  between  Spain  and 
the  eventual  candidates  for  the  throne.")  Grammont  therefore 
begged  that  the  discussion  might  be  postponed,  as  it  was 
purposeless  for  the  moment.  (Remark:  "Very.")  The  French 
Government  would  maintain  the  neutral  attitude  which  they 
had  observed  up  to  the  present,  but  would  not  permit  a 
foreign  Power  to  place  a  Prince  upon  the  Spanish  throne 
("  Hardly  any  power  entertains  such  an  intention,  except  per- 
haps France."),  and  endanger  the  honour  and  dignity  of  France. 
They  trusted  to  the  \visdom  of  the  Germans  (Remark:  "Has 
nothing  to  do  with  it."),  and  to  the  friendship  of  the  Spanish 
people.  (Remark:  "That  is  the  main  point.")  Should  they 
be  deceived  in  their  hopes  they  would  do  their  duty  without 
hesitation  or  weakness.     (Remark:  "We  also.") 

Bucher  sent  me  a  whole  packet  of  sketches  for  articles :  — 
I.  "If  Spain  records  her  decision  to  establish  a  govern- 
ment which  shall  be  peaceful,  and  tolerant  in  religious  matters, 
and  which  may  be  expected  to  be  friendly  to  Germany,  who  is 
also  devoted  to  peace,  can  it  be  in  our  interest  to  prevent  the 
execution  of  that  resolve,  and  for  that  purpose  to  take  measures 
of  doubtful  legality  ?  Shall  we,  because  of  a  threat  of  war  made 
in  pursuit  of  an  arbitrary  and  dynastic  object,  take  steps  to 
frustrate  a  reorganisation  of  Spanish  affairs  advantageous  to 
Germany }     Is  it  not  rather  an  act  of  insolent  presumption  on 


30  FRENCH   THREATS  [July  9 

the  part  of  France  to  address  such  a  demand  to  Germany  ?  Ob- 
viously France  lacks  either  the  courage  or  the  means  to  enforce 
her  views  at  Madrid,  and  it  appears  from  Grammont's  speech  of 
the  4th  of  July  that  in  her  anger  at  what  has  happened  in  Spain 
she  is  prepared  to  throw  herself  upon  Germany  in  a  blind  fit  of 
rage.  That  speech  is  to  a  certain  extent  a  declaration  of  war 
against  the  person  of  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern,  in  case  he 
should  decide  to  accept  the  offer  of  the  Spanish  people.  France 
demands  that  Prussia  shall  undertake  the  office  of  policeman  in 
case  a  German  Prince  who  has  attained  liis  majority  shows  a 
disposition  to  meet  the  wishes  of  the  Spaniards.  For  a  North 
German  Government  to  interfere  with  a  citizen  who  should  wish 
to  exercise  his  right  to  emigrate  and  adopt  the  Spanish  nation- 
ality would  raise  a  very  questionable  point  of  law  from  a  consti- 
tutional standpoint.  Even  if  such  a  power  existed,  the  dignity 
of  Germany  would  demand  that  it  should  only  be  applied  in  her 
own  interests.  The  calm  consideration  of  those  interests  is  not 
in  the  least  affected  by  the  warlike  threats  of  a  neighbouring 
State  which,  instead  of  arguments,  appeals  to  itS4CX),ooo  soldiers. 
If  France  lays  claim  in  this  manner  to  the  guardianship  of  ad- 
joining nations,  the  maintenance  of  peace  can  for  the  latter  be 
only  a  question  of  time,  which  may  be  decided  at  any  moment. 
On  Grammont's  appointment  to  the  French  Foreign  Office,  it 
was  feared  in  many  quarters  that  the  choice  by  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  of  a  statesman  who  was  only  remarkable  for  his  per- 
sonal impetuosity  and  his  hostility  to  Germaay  indicated  a 
desire  to  secure  for  himself  greater  liberty  in  breaking  the 
peace.  Unfortunately  the  haughty  and  aggressive  tone  of  the 
Duke's  speech  is  not  calculated  to  remove  the  apprehensions 
entertained  at  that  time.  He  is  not  a  minister  of  peace,  but 
rather  the  instrument  of  a  personal  policy  which  shrinks  from 
no  rcsjDonsibility.  In  itself  the  question  as  to  who  is  to  be  the 
ruler  of  Spain  is  not  one  for  which  Germany  would  go  to  war. 
But  the  F"rcnch  demand  that  the  German  Government,  in  oppo- 
sition to  its  own  interests,  should  put  artificial  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  the  Spaniards  manifests  a  depth  of  self-conceit  which 
scarcely  any  government  amongst  the  independent  states  of 
Europe  could  submit  to  at  the  present  day.  We  seek  no 
quarrel,  but  if  any  one  tries  to  force  one  \i\)on  us  he  will  find  us 
ready  to  go  through  with  it  to  the  bitter  end." 


1870]  'I'llK   SPANISH    BOURBONS  3I 

2.  In  another  article  (there  was  too  much  material  to  be  dis- 
posed of  in  one)  the  following  considerations  were  to  be  devel- 
oped. This  was  not  to  be  communicated  to  the  official  organs, 
but  either  to  the  Kodiiischc  Zcitung  or  the  SpcncrscJie  Zcittuig, 
while  it  was  to  be  given  in  a  curtailed  form  to  Hahn's  Literary 
Bureau.  "  If  the  candidature  of  Alphonso  had  up  to  the  pres- 
ent any  prospect  of  success  in  Spain,  it  would  have  been  most 
prejudicially  affected  by  the  foolish  uproar  raised  in  France, 
which  stamped  it  with  a  French  official  character.  No  worse 
service  could  be  done  to  that  Prince  than  to  represent  him  as 
a  French  candidate.  Montpensier  had  already  suffered  under 
the  reproach  that  he  was  a  Frenchman.  The  Bourbons  had 
formerly  been  imposed  upon  the  Spaniards,  and  had  proved 
themselves  no  blessing.  The  manner  in  which  the  succession 
to  the  throne  is  now  discussed  in  France  would  offend  a  nation 
even  less  proud  than  the  Spaniards." 

3.  "Between  the  years  1866  and  1868,  and  particularly 
before  the  fall  of  Isabella,  France  schemed  a  great  deal  against 
Germany  with  Austria,  Italy,  and  also  with  Spain.  Those  in- 
trigues were  set  at  nought  by  the  Revolution  of  September,  to 
which  Count  Bismarck  referred  w^hen  he  said  at  that  time  in 
Parliament  that  the  danger  of  war,  which  had  been  very  immi- 
nent, had  been  dispelled  by  an  unforeseen  event.  So  long  as 
France  maintains  her  warlike  intentions  towards  Germany,  she 
will  desire  to  see  on  the  Spanish  throne  a  dynasty  favourable 
to  those  schemes,  possibly  an  Ultramontane  one,  as  in  case 
of  an  attack  on  Germany  it  would  make  a  difference  of  about 
50,000  men  to  France  whether  she  had  a  benevolent,  or  at  least 
a  neutral,  neighbour  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pyrenees  or  one 
whose  attitude  might  be  suspected.  It  is  true  that  France  has 
nothing  to  fear  directly  from  Spain  if  the  French,  who  for  the 
past  eighty  years  have  been  unable  to  make  up  their  own  minds 
and  who  cannot  govern  themselves,  would  give  up  the  attempt 
to  play  the  part  of  tutor  to  other  nations.  Let  the  period  1848- 
1850  in  France  be  compared  with  that  of  1868- 1870  in  Spain, 
and  the  comparison  will  not  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  nation 
qui  via  re  he  a  la  tete  de  la  eivilisation." 

4.  "  England  is  accustomed  to  look  upon  the  Peninsula 
as  a  dependency  of  her  own,  and  doubtless  believes  that  her 
influence  can  be  more  easily  made  to  prevail  in  a  state  of  inse- 


32  PRIM'S   SPEECH  [JDLY  10 

curity  than  under  the  rule  of  a  powerful  dynasty.  It  is  not 
wise  of  the  English  to  recall  certain  incidents  of  Spanish  his- 
tory, a  course  in  which  they  are  followed  by  the  French  news- 
papers. The  Spanish  version  of  the  history  of  the  wars  against 
the  First  Napoleon  is  very  different  to  the  English  one.  In 
Buen  Retire  every  traveller  is  shown  the  site  of  a  once  prosper- 
ous porcelain  manufactory,  which  was  needlessly  burned  to  the 
ground  by  the  British  allies  of  Spain." 

5.  Still  another  subject.  "  Very  pleased  with  the  article 
in  the  Spcncrsche  Zciticng  (this  was  addressed  to  me).  Please 
again  call  attention  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner  to  the  im- 
petuosity of  Grammont  therein  referred  to.  What  is  the  real 
ground  for  all  this  alarm  .-•  A  paragraph  in  the  Agcnce  Havas 
to  the  effect  that  the  affair  had  been  settled  without  the  con- 
currence of  the  Cortes.  It  is  probable  that  the  French  Govern- 
ment itself  had  this  paragraph  inserted,  and  it  was,  moreover, 
concocted  in  complete  ignorance  of  the  Spanish  constitution 
and  of  the  laws  governing  the  election  of  a  King.  This,  which 
was  the  only  new  feature,  was  a  barefaced  invention.  It  had 
already  been  mentioned  in  all  the  papers  that  Prim's  speech  of 
the  nth  of  June  referred  to  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern,  and 
that  had  caused  no  exxitement  in  France.  Is  the  present  agi- 
tation then  a  coup  viontcf  Does  the  French  Government  in- 
sist upon  a  'row'.''  Has  Louis  Napoleon  chosen  Grammont  in 
order  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  us .''  At  any  rate  he  has  been 
unskilful  in  his  treatment  of  this  question.  The  general  moral 
to  be  drawn  as  often  as  possible  is :  the  French  Government  is, 
after  all,  not  quite  so  shrewd  as  people  believe.  The  P'rench 
have  succeeded  in  many  things  with  the  assistance  of  300,000 
soldiers,  and  owing  to  that  success  they  are  regarded  as  im- 
mensely clever.  Is  that  really  so  .-*  Circumstances  show  that  it 
is  not." 

July  loth,  evening.  —  Received  a  further  series  of  sketches 
and  drafts  for  articles  from  Ikicher,  who  acts  as  the  mouthi^iece 
of  the  Chancellor's  views  and  intentions. 

I.  P'or  the  Spenerschc  or  Koelnisclie.  "Those  foreign 
Powers  that  are  not  concerned  in  the  differences  respecting 
the  Spanish  throne  are  as  desirous  to  maintain  peace  as  Ger- 
many herself.  Their  influence  will,  however,  be  neutralised  by 
Grammont's  ill-considered  threats.      Should   the   German    Gov- 


iSyoJ  CIPHER   DESrATCIIKS  33 

crnments  consider  the  security  of  our  frontier  to  be  seriously 
threatened,  they  would  scarcely  come  to  a  decision  without 
convoking  Parliament." 

2.  "The  French  are  running  amuck  like  a  Malay  who  has 
got  into  a  rage  and  rushes  through  the  streets  dagger  in  hand, 
foaming  at  the  mouth,  stabbing  every  one  who  happens  to  cross 
his  path.  If  France  is  mad  enough  to  regard  Germany  as  a  fit 
object  for  a  vicarious  whipping,  nothing  will  restrain  her,  and 
the  result  will  be  that  she  will  herself  receive  a  personal  casti- 
gation." 

3.  "  The  semi-official  journals  in  Paris  pretend  that  attention 
has  been  attracted  there  by  the  numerous  cipher  despatches  ex- 
changed between  Berlin  and  Madrid,  and  that  they  have  been 
clever  enough  to  decipher  them.  We  do  not  know  whether 
many  despatches  have  passed  between  the  two  capitals  men- 
tioned, but  we  remember  a  communication  which  was  made  to 
Parliament  some  time  ago  by  Count  Bismarck,  according  to 
which  the  cipher  system  of  our  Foreign  Office  is  based  on  a 
vocabulary  of  about  20,000  words,  each  one  of  which  is  repre- 
sented by  a  group  of  figures  arbitrarily  chosen.  It  is  impossible 
to  '  decipher  '  such  a  system  in  the  same  way  as  those  based  on 
an  altered  alphabet  and  other  old  methods.  In  order  to  read 
such  a  despatch,  it  is  essential  to  have  the  vocabulary.  Does 
the  cleverness  on  which  the  Parisians  pride  themselves  consist 
in  having  stolen  the  key  to  our  ciphers  .-*  This  would  be  in 
contradiction  with  the  original  statement  that  the  Prince  of 
Hohenzollern's  candidature  first  became  known  through  a  com- 
munication from  Prim.  It  would,  therefore,  appear  that  the 
official  press  wants  to  clear  the  Government  of  the  reproach  of 
incapacity  by  a  subsequent  invention,  acting  on  the  maxim  that 
it  is  better  to  be  taken  for  a  rogue  than  a  fool." 

4.  "According  to  a  private  telegram  from  Paris  to  the 
Berliner  Boersen  Zeitung,  our  Ambassador  there,  together  with 
the  second  Secretary  of  Embassy,  left  for  Ems  on  receipt  of  a 
Note  delivered  to  him  immediately  after  the  Cabinet  Council 
at  Saint  Cloud.  We  have  made  inquiries  in  the  proper  quarter 
as  to  the  accuracy  of  this  report,  and  have  received  the  fol- 
lowing answer :  Note  delivered.  *  Not  a  shadow  of  truth. 
Werther's  journey  was  decided  upon  and  announced  in  Paris 
long  before  the  agitation  began.'  " 

VOL.  I.  —  D 


34  THE   EiMPRESS   EUGENIE  [July  13 

5.  "As  was  already  known,  Prim  intended  this  year,  as  on 
previous  occasions,  to  visit  Vichy.  This  would  have  led  to  a 
meeting  between  himself  and  the  Emperor  Napoleon  and  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  succession  to  the  Spanish  throne.  It  is  also  re- 
ported that  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern  was  not  indisposed  to 
try  confidentially  to  bring  about  an  understanding  with  the 
Emperor.  All  this  has  been  rendered  impossible  by  the  abrupt 
tone  of  the  Due  de  Grammont.  As  Prim's  visit  to  Vichy  has 
long  since  been  announced  in  the  newspapers,  and  the  near 
relationship  as  well  as  the  personal  friendship  which  hitherto 
existed  between  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern  and  the  Emperor 
rendered  both  meetings  probable,  it  is  hard  to  avoid  the  sus- 
picion that  the  French  Government,  dreading  insurmountable 
domestic  difficulties,  desires  to  inflame  French  vanity  in  favour 
of  a  war,  which  would  at  the  same  time  promote  the  dynastic 
views  of  the  Empress  Eugenie." 

July  i2th.  —  Received  from  Secretary  Wollmann  a  note 
from  Bucher  in  Varzin  which  is  intended  for  me.  It  has  been 
sent  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  order  that  he  should  say 
whether  there  is  any  objection  to  its  being  used  in  the  press. 
He  has  no  objection,  and  so  it  goes  to  the  newspapers.  It  runs 
as  follows  :  —  "  The  Imparcial  publishes  a  letter  from  Paris  to 
the  effect  that  the  furious  article  in  the  ConstitJitionnel  reproach- 
ing Prince  Hohenzollern  with  his  relationship  to  Murat  has 
been  revised  by  the  Emperor  himself." 

In  the  evening  the  Minister  returned.  He  is  dressed  in 
plain  clothes  and  looks  very  well. 

July  13^//.  —  Called  early  to  the  Chief.  I  am  to  wait  until 
a  statement  appears  in  the  press  to  the  effect  that  the  renuncia- 
tion of  Prince  Hohenzollern  was  in  consequence  of  pressure 
from  Ems,  and  then  to  contradict  it.  "  In  the  meantime  (said 
the  Minister)  the  NorddeutscJie  should  only  say  that  the  Prince's 
present  decision  has  not  been  altogether  unexpected.  When 
he  accepted  the  throne  which  had  been  offered  to  him  he  had 
obviously  not  foreseen  that  his  decision  would  occasion  so  much 
excitement  in  Paris.  P'or  more  than  thirty  years  past  the  best 
relations  existed  between  Napoleon  and  the  Hohenzollern  family. 
Prince  Leopold  could  not,  therefore,  have  apprehended  any  an- 
tipathy to  his  candidature  on  the  part  of  the  Emperor.  As  his 
andidature  suddenlv  became  known  after  the  Cortes  had  been 


1870  J  PRINCE   LEOPOLD'S   DECISION  35 

adjourned  till  November,  it  may  well  have  been  assumed  that 
there  would  be  time  enough  in  the  interval  to  sound  the  Em- 
peror as  to  his  views.  Now  that  this  assumption  (here  the 
Chancellor  began  to  speak  more  slowly,  as  if  he  were  dictat- 
ing), which,  up  to  the  acceptance  of  the  Crown  by  the  Prince, 
was  still  quite  legitimate,  had  proved  to  be  partly  erroneous,  it 
was  scarcely  probable  that  the  Prince  would,  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility, be  disposed  to  cope  single-handed  with  the  storm  which 
his  decision  had  raised,  and  might  yet  raise,  in  view  of  the 
apprehensions  of  war  of  the  whole  European  world,  and  the 
influence  brought  to  bear  upon  him  from  London  and  Brussels. 
Even  a  portion  of  the  responsibility  of  involving  the  great 
European  nations,  not  only  in  one  war,  but  possibly  in  a  series 
of  wars,  would  weigh  very  heavily  upon  a  man  who  could  not 
claim  to  have  assumed  it  as  part  of  the  duty  of  the  Royal  office 
which  he  had  already  accepted.  That  was  more  than  could 
well  be  expected  of  a  Prince  who  only  occupied  a  private 
position.  It  was  the  offensive  tone  of  Grammont  that  alone 
prevented  Prussia  from  exercising  her  influence  with  the 
Prince." 

The  following  is  to  be  published  in  other  papers  :  —  "It  can- 
not be  denied  that  a  Spanish  Government  disposed  to  promote 
the  cause  of  Peace  and  to  abstain  from  conspiring  with  France 
would  be  of  considerable  value  to  us.  But  if,  some  fourteen 
days  ago,  the  Emperor  Napoleon  had  addressed  himself  confi- 
dentially to  Berlin,  or  indicated  that  the  affair  was  attracting 
attention,  Prussia,  instead  of  adopting  an  indifferent  attitude, 
would  have  cooperated  in  pacifying  public  opinion  in  Paris, 
The  situation  has  been  entirely  altered  through  the  aggressive 
tone  of  Grammont's  speech,  and  the  direct  demands  addressed 
to  the  King,  who  is  staying  in  privacy  at  Ems  for  the  benefit  of 
his  health,  unaccompanied  by  a  single  Minister.  His  Majesty 
rightly  declined  to  accede  to  these  demands.  That  incident  has 
created  so  much  indignation  in  Germany,  that  many  people  feel 
disappointed  at  the  Prince  Leopold's  renunciation.  At  any 
rate,  the  confidence  in  the  peaceful  intentions  of  France  has 
been  so  thoroughly  shaken  that  it  will  take  a  considerable  time 
to  restore  it.  If  commerce  and  trade  have  been  injured  by  the 
evidence  which  has  shown  us  what  a  den  of  brigands  we  have 
to  deal  with  in  France,  the  people  of  that  country  must   fasten 


36  THE  CRISIS   AND   THE   GERMAN   COURTS  [July  19 

the  responsibility  on  the  personal  regime  under  which  they  at 
present  live. 

The  Minister  also  desires  it  to  be  incidentally  remarked  in 
the  non-official  press  that  of  the  South  German  Courts  those  of 
Munich  and  Karlsruh  had  given  the  most  satisfactory  declara- 
tions in  this  affair,  while  on  the  other  hand  that  of  Stuttgart 
had  expressed  itself  evasively. 

Finally,  I  am  to  communicate  to  one  of  the  local  papers  that 
Count  Bismarck  has  been  sent  for  to  Ems  to  consult  with  the 
King  as  to  summoning  Parliament.  Breaking  off  a  cure  which 
he  was  undergoing,  the  Chancellor  has  remained  in  Berlin  in 
order  to  await  there  the  further  instructions  of  his  Majesty,  or 
ultimately  to  return  to  Varzin.  The  Count  then  added :  "  Later 
on  I  will  call  for  you  several  times,  as  there  is  something  more 
to  be  prepared  for  the  NorddeiitscJie.  We  shall  now  be  shortly 
interrupted."  The  Crown  Prince  arrived  five  minutes  afterwards 
and  had  a  long  interview  with  the  Minister. 

July  \^th. — Our  newspapers  to  call  attention  to  the  loyal 
attitude  of  Wiirtemberg,  "  which  in  consequence  of  a  misunder- 
standing has  been  represented  in  some  journals  as  evasive." 

J2ily  15///.  —  I  am  to  send  the  following  dementi  to  Wolf's 
Telegraphic  Agency  for  circulation  :  —  "  The  news  published  by 
the  SpenerscJie  Zeitung  respecting  the  opening  of  Parliament  is 
not  quite  accurate.  It  was  proposed  a  week  ago  by  the  Chan- 
cellor while  in  Varzin  that  it  should  be  convoked  as  soon  as  the 
Government  Bills  were  ready  for  submission  to  it.  His  Majesty 
shares  this  view,  and  the  Federal  Council  has  accordingly  been 
summoned  for  to-morrow,  Saturday,  morning  to  consider  those 
measures." 

In  the  evening  the  Chancellor  dictated  an  article  for  the 
Kreuzzeitung  on  the  confusion  by  the  public  between  personal 
and  private  proceedings  of  the  King  and  his  official  acts.  It 
ran  as  follows  :  "  It  appears  from  the  Mazarcdo  pamphlet  that 
the  Hereditary  Prince  of  Hohenzollern  informed  the  King  at 
Kms  of  his  acceptance  of  the  offer  of  the  Spanish  throne,  prob- 
ably towards  the  end  of  June.  His  Majesty  was  then  at  lims 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  waters,  and  certainly  not  with  the 
intention  of  carrying  on  business  of  State,  as  none  of  his  Min- 
isters had  been  summoned  thither.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  only  so 
much  has  become  public  respecting  the    King's    reply  to  the 


iSjoJ  KINt;    WILLIAM'S    POSITION  37 

communication  of  the  Hereditary  Prince  (it  was  in  the  form  of 
a  letter  written  in  his  Majesty's  own  hand)  that  the  sovereign 
was  not  pleased  at  the  news,  although  he  did  not  feel  called 
upon  to  offer  any  opposition.  In  the  whole  affair  no  State  ac- 
tion of  any  kind  has  been  taken.  This  constitutional  aspect  of 
the  situation  does  not  appear  to  have  been  properly  appreciated 
up  to  the  present  in  public  discussions  of  the  question.  The 
position  of  the  King  in  his  private  correspondence  was  con- 
founded with  his  position  as  head  of  the  State,  and  it  was  for- 
gotten that  in  the  latter  capacity,  according  to  the  constitution, 
the  codpcration  of  the  Ministry  is  necessary  to  constitute  a  State 
action.  It  is  only  the  French  Cabinet  that  appears  to  have 
thoroughly  realised  this  distinction,  inasmuch  as  it  brought  the 
whole  force  of  its  diplomacy  to  bear  upon  the  person  of  the 
sovereign,  who  was  staying  at  a  watering  place  for  the  sake  of 
his  health,  and  whose  private  life  was  not  protected  by  the  usual 
etiquette,  in  order  to  force  him  under  official  pressure  into  pri- 
vate negotiations  which  might  afterwards  be  represented  as 
arrangements  with  the  Government." 

July  iC)th.  —  About  an  hour  after  the  opening  of  Parliament 
in  the  Royal  Palace  (1.45  p.m.),  Le  Sourd,  the  French  Chargd 
d' Affaires,  delivered  Napoleon's  declaration  of  war  at  the  Foreign 
Office. 

Towards  5  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  was  called  to  the  Min- 
ister, who  was  in  his  garden.  After  searching  for  him  for  some 
time  I  saw  him  coming  through  one  of  the  long  shady  alleys  to 
the  left,  which  led  to  the  entrance  in  the  Koniggratzer  Strasse. 
He  was  brandishing  a  big  stick.  His  figure  stood  out  against 
the  yellow  evening  sunshine  like  a  picture  painted  on  a  gold 
ground.  He  stopped  in  his  walk  as  I  came  up  to  him,  and 
said  :  "  I  wish  you  to  write  something  in  the  KreiizzeiUmg 
against  the  Hanoverian  nobles.  It  must  come  from  the  prov- 
inces, from  a  nobleman  living  in  the  country,  an  Old  Prussian  — 
very  blunt,  somewhat  in  this  style :  It  is  reported  that  certain 
Hanoverian  nobles  have  endeavoured  to  find  pilots  and  spies  in 
the  North  Sea  for  French  men-of-war.  The  arrests  made  within 
the  last  few  days  with  the  assistance  of  the  military  authorities 
are  understood  to  be  connected  with  this  affair.  The  conduct 
of  those  Hanoverians  is  infamous,  and  I  certainly  express  the 
sentiments  of  all  my  neighbours  when  I  put  the  following  ques- 


38  A  GOOD   OLD   PRUSSIAN   WORD  [July  19 

tions  to  the  Hanoverian  nobles  who  sympathise  with  those 
traitors.  Have  they  any  doubt,  I  would  ask  them,  that  a  man 
of  honour  could  not  now  regard  such  men  as  entitled  to  de- 
mand honourable  satisfaction  by  arms  whether  their  unpatriotic 
action  was  or  was  not  undertaken  at  the  bidding  of  King 
George  ?  Do  they  not,  as  a  matter  of  course,  consider  that 
an  affair  of  honour  with  them  is  altogether  out  of  the  question, 
and  should  one  of  them  be  impudent  enough  to  propose  such  a 
thing,  would  they  not  have  him  turned  out  of  the  house  by  the 
servants  or  eject  him  propria;  via7i2i  after  having,  of  course,  put 
on  a  pair  of  gloves  to  handle  him  with  ?  Are  they  not  con- 
vinced that  such  miscreants  can  only  be  properly  described  by 
the  good  old  Prussian  word  Hjindsvott  (scurvy,  infamous  rogues) 
and  that  their  treason  has  branded  their  posterity  to  the  third 
and  fourth  generations  with  indelible  disgrace  ?  I  beg  them  to 
answer  these  questions." 

Evening. —  In  an  article  in  the  Liberty  oi  the  i8th  instant, 
that  paper  reminds  Italy  that  she  owes  her  liberation  to  France, 
and  that  in  1866  it  was  France  who  brought  about  the  Italian 
alliance  with  the  Berlin  Cabinet.  It  then  maintains  that,  in 
view  of  the  seriousness  of  approaching  events,  Victor  Em- 
manuel, with  truly  chivalrous  sentiment,  has  not  for  a  moment 
hesitated  to  assure  the  French  of  his  unconditional  support. 
With  reference  to  this  article  our  papers  should  observe  :  "  Up 
to  the  present  the  French  have  played  the  part  of  masters  to 
the  whole  world,  and  Belgium,  Spain,  and  the  King  of  Prussia 
have  in  turn  experienced  their  arrogance.  Their  behaviour  was 
somewhat  like  that  of  the  Sultan  towards  his  Khedive,  it  was  a 
kind  of  megalomania  based  upon  the  bayonet.  Their  presump- 
tion is  now  beginning  to  waver,  so  they  court  the  assistance  of 
those  good  friends  whom  they  pretend  to  have  placed  under 
obligations  to  them." 

The  Minister  subsequently  dictated  the  following  to  be 
worked  up  for  the  German  newspapers  outside  Berlin,  such  as 
the  Koelnische  Zcitiing,  and  for  the  English  and  Belgium  jour- 
nals :  "  According  to  confidential  communications  from  loyal 
Hanoverian  circles,  amongst  other  decisive  factors  which  led  the 
French  to  the  declaration  of  war,  were  the  reports  sent  to  Paris 
by  Colonel  Stoffel,  the  Military  Plenipotentiary  in  Berlin.  Stof- 
fel's  information  was,  it  appears,  less  accurate  than  abundant, 


1870]  FRENCH    INTRIGUES   IN   SPAIN  39 

as  none  of  those  who  supplied  him  with  it  being  prepared  to 
forego  the  payments  they  received  from  him  merely  because 
they  had  nothing  to  say,  they  occasionally  invented  the  news 
of  which  they  warranted  the  correctness.  The  Plenipotentiary 
had,  it  is  said,  been  informed  that  the  arming  of  the  Prussian 
infantry,  both  as  regards  rifles  and  ammunition,  was  at  present 
undergoing  a  thorough  transformation,  and  that  consequently  a 
moment  so  favourable  as  the  present  for  attacking  Prussia  would 
hardly  occur  again,  inasmuch  as  on  the  completion  of  this 
change  the  Prussian  armaments  would  have  been  unassail- 
able." 1 

2.  "  It  now  appears  to  be  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  French 
Government  was  aware  of  the  candidature  of  the  Prince  of 
Hohenzollern  for  months  past,  that  they  carefully  promoted  it 
and  foolishly  imagined  it  would  serve  as  a  means  of  isolating 
Prussia  and  creating  a  division  in  Germany.  No  trustworthy 
information  has  been  received  as  yet  as  to  whether  and  how  far 
Marshal  Prim  had  prepared  the  way  for  this  intrigue,  in  agree- 
ment with  the  Emperor  Napoleon.  But  doubtless  that  point 
will  ultimately  be  cleared  up  by  history.  The  sudden  disap- 
pearance of  Spain  from  the  political  field  as  soon  as  the  differ- 
ences between  France  and  Prussia  broke  out  gives  matter  for 
reflection  and  suspicion.  It  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  strange 
that  after  the  zeal  shown  by  the  Spanish  Government  in  the 
matter  of  the  Hohenzollern  candidature  had  been  raised  to 
boiling  point  it  should  have  suddenly  fallen  below  zero,  and  that 
the  relations  of  Marshal  Prim  to  the  French  Cabinet  should  now 
appear  to  be  of  the  most  friendly  character,  while  the  Spaniards 
seem  no  longer  to  feel  any  irritation  at  the  interference  of 
France  in  their  internal  affairs." 

3.  "  Rumours  were  circulated  this  afternoon  to  the  effect  that 
the  former  French  Military  Plenipotentiary,  Baron  Stoffel,  had 
been  insulted  in  the  street.  On  closer  inquiry  it  was  ascertained 
that  some  individuals  who  knew  Stoffel  followed  him  in  the 
street,  and  on  his  reaching  his  house  struck  the  door  with  their 
sticks.  The  police  intervened  energetically  on  the  first  report 
of  this  matter  and  have  taken  measures  to  prevent  a  repetition 
of  such  conduct  and  to  provide  that  Baron  Stoffel  shall  not  be 

1  The  loyal  Hanoverian  circles  did  not  tell  the  truth  in  this  matter.  Stoffel's 
reports  were,  on  the  whole,  good,  and  he  himself  was  a  man  of  respectable  character. 


40  A  SUGGESTION   FOR  GARIBALDI  [July  23 

interfered  with  on  his  departure  this  evening.  Excesses  of  this 
description  are,  however,  highly  reprehensible,  even  when  they 
are  confined  to  words.  The  former  representatives  of  France 
are  under  the  protection  of  international  law  and  of  the  honour 
of  Germany  until  they  have  crossed  the  frontier." 

July  2isL  —  Keudell  asked  me  this  morning  if  I  knew  Rasch, 
the  journalist,  and  if  I  could  say  where  he  was  now  to  be  found, 
in  Berlin  or  elsewhere.  I  replied  that  I  had  seen  him  in  Schles- 
wig  in  1864,  afterwards  at  a  table  d'hote  at  the  Hotel  Weissberg, 
in  the  Dessauer  Strasse,  where  he  lodged  at  the  end  of  February. 
I  knew  nothing  more  about  him,  but  had  heard  that  he  was 
extremely  conceited,  almost  to  the  point  of  madness  —  a  political 
visionary  who  desired  to  convert  the  whole  world  to  republican- 
ism. I  was  not  aware  of  his  whereabouts  in  Berlin,  but  would 
make  inquiries  at  Weissberg's.  Keudell  told  me  to  hunt  him  up 
and  ask  him  whether  he  would  go  to  Garibaldi  and  urge  him 
to  undertake  an  expedition  against  Rome,  at  the  same  time 
carrying  him  money  from  us.  I  pointed  out  that  Rasch  was 
perhaps  too  vain  to  keep  his  own  counsel,  Keudell  consoled 
himself  with  the  idea  that  he  would  doubtless  prove  a  good 
patriot.  I  declined  to  treat  with  Rasch  in  the  matter,  as  I  could 
not  speak  to  him  in  my  own  name  but  in  that  of  the  Foreign 
Office,  and  that  could  be  better  done  by  some  official  of  higher 
rank,  who  would  make  a  greater  impression  upon  Rasch. 
Keudell  seemed  to  recognise  the  justice  of  this  view.  I  made 
inquiries  and  was  able  to  report  on  the  same  evening  that  Rasch 
was  staying  at  Weissberg's. 

Called  to  the  Minister  in  the  evening.  He  showed  me  an 
extract  from  the  National  Zeitnng,  and  observed:  "They  say 
here  that  the  English  would  not  allow  the  French  to  attack  on 
Belgium.  Well  and  good,  but  how  does  that  help  the  Belgians 
if  the  protection  comes  too  late?  If  Germany  were  once  de- 
feated (which  God  forbid!)  the  English  would  not  be  able  to 
assist  the  Belgians  in  the  least,  but  might,  on  the  contrary,  be 
thankful  if  they  themselves  remained  safe  in  London." 

I  am  further  to  call  attention  to  the  "  manner  in  which  France 
is  begging  for  help  on  all  sides  —  that  great  warlike  nation  which 
makes  so  much  parade  of  its  victories,  representing  them  as 
having  always  been  won  solely  by  the  force  of  its  own  arms. 
They  go  begging  (use  that  expression)  to  Italy,  to  Denmark,  to 


1870]  now   ENGLAND   UNDERSTANDS   NEUTRALITY  41 

Swe-^'",  and  above  all  to  the  German  States,  to  whom  tbey 
promise  the  same  brilliant  destiny  which  they  have  already 
prepared  for  Italy  —  political  independence  and  financial 
ruin." 

Called  up  to  the  Minister  again  later.  I  am  to  secure  the 
insertion  of  the  following  in  the  non-official  German  papers  and 
in  the  Belgian  and  English  press:  "The  English  Government 
observe  their  neutrality  in  connection  with  the  war  that  has  now 
broken  out  in  a  liberal  and  conscientious  spirit.  They  impar- 
tially permit  both  sides  to  purchase  horses  and  munitions  of  war 
in  England.  It  is  unfortunate,  however,  that  France  alone  can 
avail  herself  of  this  liberality,  as  will  appear  from  a  glance  at 
the  geographical  position  of  the  two  countries  and  from  the 
superiority  of  the  French  at  sea.  Then  quote  what  Heffter 
(the  book  must  be  in  the  Library)  has  to  say  on  this  kind  of 
neutrality,  and  observe  that  the  English  jurists  describe  it 
more  tersely  as  '  fraudulent  neutrality.'  " 

July  22,rd.  —  Called  to  the  Minister  five  times  to-day.  The 
press  should  urge  the  prosecution  and  seizure  of  Rothan,  an  Al- 
sacian  who  speaks  German,  hitherto  French  Charg6  d'Affaires 
at  Hamburg,  who  has  been  a  zealous  spy  and  instrument  of 
French  intrigue  in  North  Germany,  and  who  is  now  understood 
to  be  wandering  along  the  coast  between  the  Elbe  and  Ems,  as 
also  that  of  the  ex-Hanoverian  ofificer,  Adolf  von  Kielmansegg, 
respecting  whom  further  particulars  are  to  be  obtained  from 
the  Ministry  of  the  Interior.  The  Count  further  wants  the 
press  to  give  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  Bavarian  members  of 
Parliament  who  voted  for  the  neutrality  of  that  State  in  the 
national  war,  mentioning  their  professions  but  without  any  fur- 
ther remarks.  "Give  it  first  in  Brass"  (i.e.,  Norddentsche  All- 
gcmeine  Zeitung),  he  added.  "  You  will  find  such  a  list  amongst 
the  documents.  The  complaints  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
England  understands  neutrality  must  be  continually  renewed. 
The  English  Government  does  not  forbid  the  export  of  horses, 
though  only  France  can  avail  herself  of  that  facility.  Colliers 
are  allowed  to  load  at  Newcastle  and  to  supply  fuel  for  the 
French  men-of-war  cruising  in  the  North  Sea.  English  car- 
tridge factories  are  working  for  the  French  army  under  the 
eyes  of  the  Government.  In  Germany  the  painful  feeling  has 
become  more   and  more    widespread   that,  under  Lord  Gran- 


42  ENGLISH   COALSHIPS   FOR   FRANCE  [July  24 

ville,  England,  while  nominally  maintaining  neutrality,  favours 
France  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  really  observed." 

About  II  P.M.  I  was  again  called  to  the  Minister.  The 
reports  respecting  the  English  coalships  to  be  at  once  sent  by 
a  Chancery  attendant  to  Wolf's  Telegraphic  Agency  for  circu- 
lation to  the  newspapers. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  an  Embassy  report 
from  London,  dated  the  30th  of  July,  to  the  following  effect: 
Lord  Granville  had  asked  the  Ambassador  if  he  had  not  stirred 
up  the  authorities  in  Berlin  against  the  English  Government. 
The  reply  was  in  the  negative.  The  Ambassador  had  only 
carried  out  his  instructions.  Public  opinion  in  Germany  in- 
fluenced the  Government,  just  as  the  German  press  influenced 
public  opinion.  The  manner  in  which  neutrality  was  observed 
on  the  part  of  England  had  excited  the  greatest  indignation 
in  Germany.  The  action  of  the  English  Government,  which 
indeed  recognised  that  France  was  in  the  wrong,  but  failed  to 
give  expression  to  that  conviction,  was  also  bitterly  resented 
there.  Granville  replied  that  once  it  had  been  decided  to 
remain  neutral  that  neutrality  must  be  maintained  in  every 
respect.  If  the  export  of  contraband  of  war  were  forbidden, 
the  French  would  regard  it  as  an  act  of  one-sided  hostility, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  would  ruin  English  trade  in  the 
branches  affected  by  such  prohibition,  and  favour  American 
manufacturers.  For  the  present,  every  one  in  England  ap- 
proved of  the  maintenance  of  neutrality,  and  therefore  in  a 
general  way  no  change  was  possible  in  these  matters.  At  the 
same  time,  the  English  Government  was  ready,  in  case  of  com- 
plaints reaching  them  in  an  official  way  respecting  any  acts  of 
illegality,  to  institute  an  inquiry  into  the  facts  and  secure  the 
punishment  of  the  guilty  parties.  It  did  not  seem  impossible 
to  prevent  the  supply  of  English  coal  to  French  men-of-war. 
Next  Monday  a  Bill  was  to  be  submitted  to  Parliament  for  the 
amendment  of  the  laws  regulating  neutrality.  The  report  con- 
cluded as  follows  :  "  England  is  in  many  respects  well  disposed 
towards  us,  but  will  for  the  present  remain  neutral.  If  we 
make  further  attacks  upon  P.nglish  public  opinion  through  our 
official  press  in  connection  with  these  grievances,  it  will  serve 
no  purpose  but  to  conjure  up  future  difficulties.  Granville  is 
not  what  we  might  desire,  but  he  is  not  prejudiced  against  us. 


iSyo]  TIIK   DUrCII    COAL   QUESTION  43 

He  may  become  so,  however,  if  he  is  further  provoked  by 
us.  We  can  hardly  succeed  in  overthrowing  him,  and  if  we  did 
his  probable  successor  would  in  all  likelihood  be  much  worse 
than  himself." 

July  2^th.  —  I  am  instructed  by  the  Count  to  send  an 
article  to  the  KoclniscJie  Zeitung  respecting  the  Dutch  coal 
question.  He  gave  me  the  following  information  on  this  sub- 
ject :  "  Holland  asked  us  to  again  permit  the  passage  of 
Prussian  coal  down  the  Rhine,  and  requested  that  a  large 
transport  of  Rhenish  coal  intended  for  Holland  should  be 
allowed  to  pass  the  frontier.  It  was  only  to  be  used  in  fac- 
tories, and  the  Government  of  the  Netherlands  would  prohibit 
its  reexportation.  Prussia  willingly  agreed  to  this,  but  shortly 
afterwards  it  was  ascertained  that  foreign  vessels  were  being 
loaded  with  coal  in  Dutch  ports,  and  the  Government  of  the 
Netherlands  subsequently  informed  us  that  in  promising  to 
prevent  the  reexportation  they  had  overlooked  the  circumstance 
that  their  Treaty  with  France  did  not  permit  this.  Thereupon 
as  a  matter  of  course  the  export  of  Prussian  coal  to  Holland 
was  prohibited.  In  the  interval,  however,  they  seem  to  have 
secured  a  sufficient  supply  in  Holland  to  provide  the  French 
fleet  for  a  considerable  time.  That  is  a  very  suspicious  method 
of  observing  the  neutrality  promised  by  the  gentlemen  at  the 
Hague." 

Bucher  brings  me  the  followmg  paragraph  from  the  Chief, 
which  is  to  be  inserted  in  the  Spenersche  Zeitung,  or  some  other 
non-official  organ  and  afterwards  m  the  North  German  Corre- 
spondence: *'In  185 1  a  literary  ^^wz'w  in  Paris  was  commissioned 
to  conjure  up  the  Red  Terror  in  a  pamphlet,  which  proved  very 
useful  to  the  President  Louis  Napoleon,  enabling  him  to  escape 
from  a  debtors'  prison  and  ascend  the  Imperial  throne.  The 
Due  de  Grammont  now  tries  to  raise  the  Spanish  Terror  in 
order  to  save  the  Emperor  from  the  necessity  of  accounting  for 
the  hundred  millions  which  he  diverted  from  the  State  Treasury 
into  his  private  purse.  The  literary  gentleman  in  question  was 
made  a  Prefect.  What  reward  can  Grammont  have  had  in 
view  ? " 

Evening.  —  The  Minister  wishes  an  article  to  be  prepared 
for  circulation  m  the  German  press  describing  the  French  and 
French  policy  under  the   Emperor   Napoleon.     This  is  to  be 


44  THE   FRENCH   AS   A   NATION  [Jii.Y  27 

first  sent  to  the  Spenersche  Zcitimg,  while  the  Literary  Bureau 
is  to  secure  the  insertion  of  the  principal  points  in  a  condensed 
form  in  the  Magdeburg  papers  and  a  number  of  the  smaller 
journals  to-morrow.  The  Count  said  (literally):  "The  French 
are  not  so  astute  as  people  generally  think.  As  a  nation  they 
resemble  certain  individuals  amongst  our  lower  classes.  They 
are  narrow-minded  and  brutal, —  great  physical  force,  boastful 
and  insolent,  winning  the  admiration  of  men  of  their  own  stamp 
through  their  audacity  and  violence.  Here  in  Germany  the 
French  are  also  considered  clever  by  persons  who  do  not  think 
deeply,  and  their  ministers  are  regarded  as  great  statesmen  be- 
cause of  their  insolent  interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  whole 
world,  and  their  desire  to  rule  everywhere.  Audacity  is  always 
impressive.  People  think  their  success  is  due  to  shrewd  politi- 
cal calculation,  but  it  is  actually  due  to  nothing  else  than  the 
fact  that  they  always  keep  300,000  soldiers  ready  to  back  up 
their  policy.  That  alone,  and  not  their  political  intelligence, 
has  enabled  them  to  carry  things  with  such  a  high  hand.  We 
must  get  rid  of  this  fiction.  ...  In  political  affairs  the  French 
are  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word  a  narrow-minded  nation. 
They  have  no  idea  how  things  look  outside  of  France,  and  learn 
nothing  about  it  in  their  schools.  The  French  educational 
establishments,  for  the  greater  glory  of  France,  leave  their 
pupils  in  the  crassest  ignorance  as  to  everything  beyond  her 
frontiers,  and  so  they  have  not  the  slightest  knowledge  of  their 
neighbours;  that  is  the  case  with  the  Emperor,  or  at  least  he  is 
not  much  better,  to  say  nothing  of  Grammont,  who  is  an  ass 
{RindvicJi).  Napoleon  is  ignorant  at  bottom,  although  he  has 
been  educated  in  German  schools.  His  'Caesar'  was  intended 
to  conceal  that  fact.  He  has  forgotten  everything.  His  policy 
was  always  stupid.  The  Crimean  War  was  against  the  interests 
of  France,  which  demanded  an  alliance  or  at  least  a  good  under- 
standing with  Russia.  It  was  the  same  with  the  war  in  Italy. 
There  he  created  a  rival  in  the  Mediterranean,  North  Africa, 
Tunis,  etc.,  who  may  one  day  prove  dangerous.  The  Italian 
people  is  much  more  gifted  than  the  French,  only  less  numer- 
ous. The  war  in  Mexico  and  the  attitude  adopted  in  1866  were 
blunders,  and  doubtless  in  storming  about  as  they  do  at  present 
the  French  feel  conscious  that  they  have  committed  another 
blunder." 


1870J  THE   BKNEUL'ITI   TREATY  45 

July  25///.  —  At  II  o'clock  this  morning,  Count  Bismarck 
and  his  family  took  the  Holy  Communion  at  their  residence. 
He  asked  whether  any  one  in  our  bureau  desired  to  join  them, 
but  no  one  offered  to  do  so.  I  was  for  a  moment  tempted,  but 
reconsidered  the  matter.  It  might  look  as  if  I  wished  to  recom- 
mend myself. 

Copies  of  the  Benedetti  draft  Treaty  are  sent  to  Auber  (the 
French  Press  Agency)  and  Heide. 

July  2'jtJi.  —  It  is  to  be  stated  either  in  the  Norddeutsche  or 
the  SpcjicrscJie  Zcititng  that  secrecy  respecting  confidential  com- 
munications between  great  States  is,  as  a  rule,  more  carefully 
observed  and  maintained  than  the  public  imagines.  Neverthe- 
less, the  French  misrepresentation  of  Prussia's  attitude  in  the 
affair  of  the  candidature  for  the  Spanish  throne  (in  Grammont's 
despatch  of  the  21st  of  July)  obliged  the  authorities  here  to  dis- 
regard these  considerations  of  discretion.  Benedetti's  proposal 
has  therefore  been  published,  and  it  may  be  followed  by  other 
documents  of  the  same  description.  The  Count  concluded  his 
directions  as  follows  :  "We  are  at  least  entitled  to  tell  the  truth 
with  discretion  in  presence  of  such  indiscreet  lies." 

Bucher  brings  me  from  the  Minister  the  following  sketch  of 
a  paragraph  for  the  press  :  "  The  despatch  of  the  Due  de  Gram- 
mont,  the  full  text  of  which  now  lies  before  us,  is  a  desperate 
attempt  to  prove  that  the  origin  of  the  situation  which  they  have 
themselves  created  was  the  Hohenzollern  candidature,  and  to 
conceal  the  motive  which  they  confessed  on  many  other  occa- 
sions —  namely,  the  conquest  by  France  of  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine  and  of  Belgium.  The  inconsistency  of  the  whole  assertion 
is  made  clear  by  the  circumstance  that  the  offer  of  the  Spanish 
throne  to  the  hereditary  Prince  of  Hohenzollern  was  first  made 
in  a  letter  dated  the  14th  of  February  of  the  present  year. 
Therefore,  there  can  be  no  connection  between  this  offer  and 
the  conversations  in  March,  1869,  between  Benedetti  and  Von 
Thiele,  which  were  the  outcome  of  aspirations  or  proposals  fre- 
quently ventilated  in  the  press  (also  with  reference  to  Prince 
Frederick  Charles).  In  185 1  the  President  Louis  Napoleon  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  credence  both  at  home  and  abroad  for  cer- 
tain fictions,  so  long  as  that  was  necessary  for  the  attainment 
of  his  object.  The  fiction  which  is  now  circulated,  at  a  some- 
what late  hour,  to  the  effect  that  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern 


40  THE   I'RENCH    FlCTlOiNS  [July  31 

was  the  candidate  of  Prussia  is  refuted  in  advance  by  the  fact, 
which  has  been  well  known  for  a  long  time,  that  the  Prussian 
Government  as  well  as  the  officials  of  the  Confederation  had 
absolutely  no  knowledge  of,  or  connection  with,  the  Spanish 
proposal.  It  was  resolutely  opposed  by  his  Majesty  the  King, 
as  the  head  of  the  Hohenzollern  family,  until  last  June,  when 
at  Ems  he  reluctantly  withdrew  his  opposition  when  it  was 
represented  to  him  that  otherwise  Spain  would  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Republicans.  We  find  it  difficult  to  understand 
what  interest  the  French  Government  can  have  in  circulating 
such  lies  now  that  war  has  actually  broken  out.  The  attempt 
of  the  Due  de  Grammont  to  conjure  up  the  spectre  of  a  restora- 
tion of  Charles  V.'s  monarchy  can  only  be  explained  by  the 
complete  isolation  of  the  French  mind.  That  apparition  had 
no  sooner  manifested  itself  than  it  vanished  before  the  angry 
contempt  of  public  opinion,  which  resented  being  supposed 
capable  of  such  credulity." 

The  Chancellor  desires  to  see  the  following  considerations 
reproduced  in  the  evening  papers :  "  The  Benedetti  document 
is  by  no  means  the  only  one  dealing  with  the  matter  in  ques- 
tion. Negotiations  were  also  carried  on  by  others,  as,  for 
instance,  by  Prince  Napoleon  during  his  stay  in  Berlin.  Since 
French  diplomacy  was  ignorant  enough  to  believe  that  a  Ger- 
man Minister  who  followed  a  national  policy  could  for  a 
moment  think  of  entertaining  such  proposals,  it  had  only 
itself  to  thank  if  it  was  befooled  with  its  own  schemes  so  long 
as  such  fooling  appeared  calculated  to  promote  the  maintenance 
of  peace.  Even  those  who  pursue  the  most  ignorant  and  nar- 
row-minded policy  must  ultimately  come  to  recognise  that  they 
have  hoped  for  and  demanded  impossibilities.  The  bellicose 
temper  which  now  prevails  in  Paris  dates  from  such  recogni- 
tion. The  hopes  of  German  statesmen  that  they  would  be  able 
to  befool  the  P'rench  until  a  peaceful  regime  was  established  in 
F"rance  by  some  transformation  of  her  despotic  constitution 
have  unfortunately  not  been  realised.  Providence  willed  it 
otherwise.  Since  we  can  no  longer  maintain  peace  it  is  not 
necessary  now  to  preserve  silence.  For  we  preserved  silence 
solely  in  order  to  promote  the  continuance,  and  if  possible  the 
permanency,  of  peaceful  relations.  .  .  ."  The  Minister  con- 
cluded :  "  You  can  add,  too,  that  the  question  of  P'rench  Swit- 


1^70]  HIE   IRENCll    IN    SEARCH    OF   ALLIES  47 

zcrland  was  also  mentioned  in  the  negotiations,  and  that  it  was 
hinted  that  in  Piedmont  they  knew  quite  well  where  the  French 
districts  begin  and  the  Italian  districts  leave  off." 

July  28///.  —  I  see  the  original  of  Benedetti's  draft  Treaty, 
and  I  am  to  receive  a  photographic  copy  of  it  similar  to  that 
which  has  been  prepared  for  distribution  amongst  foreign 
Governments. 

Bucher  handed  me  the  following  sketch  of  an  article,  re- 
ceived by  him  from  the  Minister,  which  is  to  be  inserted  in 
some  organ  not  apparently  connected  with  the  Government : 
"  Those  who  now  hold  power  in  Spain  declare  that  they  do  not 
wish  to  interfere  in  the  conflict  between  Germany  and  France, 
because  the  latter  might  create  internal  difficulties  for  them. 
They  allow  Bonaparte  to  prohibit  their  election  of  the  King  of 
their  own  choice.  They  look  on  calmly  with  folded  arms  while 
other  nations  go  to  war  over  a  difference  that  has  arisen  out  of 
a  question  of  Spanish  domestic  interest.  We  had  formed  quite 
another  opinion  of  the  Castilian  gefitilhomme.  The  Spanish 
temper  seems  to  resemble  that  of  Gil  Bias,  who  wanted  to  fight 
a  duel  with  the  army  surgeon  but  observed  that  the  latter  had 
an  unusually  long  rapier." 

July  30///,  10  P.M.  —  The  Minister  desires  that  attention 
should  be  again  called  to  the  manner  in  which  the  French  are 
looking  about  for  foreign  assistance,  and  he  once  more  gives  a 
few  points :  "  France  is  begging  in  all  directions,  and  wants  in 
particular  to  take  Italy  into  her  pay.  Here,  as  everywhere,  she 
speculates  upon  the  worst  elements,  while  the  better  elements 
will  have  nothing  to  do  with  her.  How  does  that  harmonise 
with  the  greatness  of  the  nation  which  '  stands  at  the  head  of 
civilisation,'  and  whose  historians  always  point  out  that  it  was 
only  defeated  at  Leipzig  because  its  opponents  were  four  to 
one }  At  that  time  they  had  half  Germany,  Italy,  Holland,  and 
the  present  Belgium  on  their  side.  To-day,  when  they  stand 
alone,  they  go  round  hat  in  hand  to  every  door,  and  seek 
mercenaries  to  reinforce  their  own  army,  in  which  they  can 
therefore  have  but  very  little  confidence." 

July  2)ist. — ^This  morning  received  from  Roland  one  of  the 
photographic  copies  of  the  Benedetti  draft. 


CHAPTER  II 

DEPARTURE  OF  THE  CHANCELLOR  FOR  THE  SEAT  OF  WAR  —  I 
FOLLOW  HIM,  AT  FIRST  TO  SAARBRUECK — JOURNEY  FROM 
THERE  TO  THE  FRENCH  FRONTIER  —  THE  FOREIGN  OFFICE 
FLYING  COLUMN 

On  the  31st  of  July,  1870,  at  5.30  p.m.,  the  Chancellor,  ac- 
companied by  his  wife  and  his  daughter,  the  Countess  Marie, 
left  his  residence  in  the  Wilhelm  Strasse  to  take  the  train  for 
Mayence,  on  his  way  to  join  King  William  at  the  seat  of  war. 
He  was  to  be  followed  by  some  Councillors  of  the  Foreign 
Office,  a  Secretary  of  the  Central  Bureau,  two  deciphering 
clerks,  and  three  or  four  Chancery  attendants.  The  remainder 
of  us  only  accompanied  him  with  our  good  wishes  as,  with  his 
helmet  on  his  head,  he  passed  out  between  the  two  sphinxes 
that  guard  the  door  steps  and  entered  his  carriage.  I  also  had 
resigned  myself  to  the  idea  of  following  the  course  of  the  army 
on  the  map  and  in  the  newspapers.  A  few  days  after  the 
declaration  of  war,  on  my  begging  the  Minister  to  take  me  with 
him  in  case  I  could  be  of  use,  he  replied  that  that  depended  on 
the  arrangements  at  headquarters.  At  the  moment  there  was 
no  room  for  me.     My  luck,  however,  soon  improved. 

On  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  August  a  telegram  was  re- 
ceived at  the  Ministry  giving  news  of  the  victory  at  Worth. 
Half  an  hour  later  I  took  the  good  tidings  still  fresh  and  warm 
to  a  group  of  acquaintances  who  waited  in  a  restaurant  to 
hear  how  things  were  going.  Everybody  knows  how  willingly 
Germans  celebrate  the  receipt  of  good  news.  My  tidings  were 
very  good  indeed,  and  many  (perhaps  most)  of  my  friends 
celebrated  them  too  long.  The  result  was  that  next  morning  I 
was  still  in  bed  when  the  Foreign  Office  messenger  Lorenz 
brought  me  a  copy  of  a  telegraphic  despatch,  according  to 
which  I  was  to  start  for  headquarters  immediately.  Privy 
Councillor  Ilcpke  wrote:  —  "  Dear  Doctor,  Get  ready  to  leave 

4S 


An;.  9,  1S70]        JOUKNEVlNCiS    TO    THE   SKAT   OF    WAR  49 

for  headquarters  in  the  course  of  the  day."  The  telegram  ran 
as  follows :  ~ "  Maycnce,  6th  of  August,  7.36  p.m.  Let  Dr. 
lUisch  come  here  and  bring  with  him  a  Correspondent  for  the 
National  Zeitung  and  one  for  the  Kreiizzeitnng.  Bismarck." 
Hepke  allowed  me  to  select  these  correspondents. 

I  had  therefore  after  all  attained  to  the  very  height  of  good 
fortune.  In  a  short  time  I  had  provided  for  all  essentials,  and 
by  midday  I  had  received  my  pass,  legitimation,  and  free  ticket 
for  all  military  trains.  That  evening  a  little  after  8  o'clock  I 
left  Berlin  together  with  the  two  correspondents  whom  the 
Minister  wished  to  accompany  me,  namely,  Herr  von  Ungarn- 
Sternberg,  for  the  Krcuzzeitimg,  and  Professor  Constantine 
Roeszler  for  the  Natio7ial  Zeitung.  In  the  beginning  we 
travelled  first  class,  afterwards  third,  and  finally  in  a  freight 
car.  There  were  numerous  long  halts,  which  in  our  impatience 
seemed  still  longer.  It  was  only  at  6  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  9th  of  August  that  we  reached  Frankfort.  As  we  had 
to  wait  here  for  some  hours,  we  had  time  to  inquire  where  the 
headquarters  were  now  established.  The  local  Commandant 
was  unable  to  inform  us,  nor  could  the  Telegraph  Director  say 
anything  positive  on  the  subject.  He  thought  they  might  be 
still  in  Homburg,  but  more  probably  they  had  moved  on  to 
Saarbrueck. 

It  was  midday  before  we  again  started,  in  a  goods  train,  by 
way  of  Darmstadt,  past  the  Odenwald,  whose  peaks  were  cov- 
ered with  heavy  white  fog,  by  Mannheim  and  towards  Neustadt. 
As  we  proceeded  our  pace  became  gradually  slower,  and  the 
stoppages,  which  were  occasioned  by  seemingly  endless  lines  of 
carriages  transporting  troops,  became  more  and  more  frequent. 
Wherever  a  pause  occurred  in  the  rush  of  this  onward  wave  of 
modern  national  migration,  crowds  hurried  to  the  train,  cheering 
and  flourishing  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs.  Food  and  drink 
were  brought  to  the  soldiers  by  people  of  all  sorts  and  conditions, 
including  poor  old  women  —  needy  but  good-hearted  creatures 
whose  poverty  only  allowed  them  to  offer  coffee  and  dry  black 
bread. 

We  crossed  the  Rhine  during  the  night.  As  day  began  to 
break,  we  noticed  a  well-dressed  gentleman  lying  near  us  on  the 
floor,  who  was  speaking  English  to  a  man  whom  we  took  to  be 
his  servant.     We  discovered   that   he  was   a    London   banker 


50  DIFFICULTIES   OF   TRAVEL  [Aug.  io 

named  Deichmann.  He  also  was  anxious  to  get  to  head- 
quarters in  order  to  beg  Roon's  permission  to  serve  as  a  vol- 
unteer in  a  cavalry  regiment,  for  which  purpose  he  had  brought 
his  horses  with  him.  The  line  being  blocked  near  Hosbach,  on 
Deichmann's  advice  we  took  a  country  cart  to  Neustadt,  a  little 
town  which  was  swarming  with  soldiers  —  Bavarian  riflemen, 
Prussian  Red  Hussars,  Saxon  and  other  troops. 

It  was  here  that  we  took  our  first  warm  meal  since  our 
departure  from  Berlin.  Hitherto  we  had  had  to  content  our- 
selves with  cold  meat,  while  at  night  our  attempts  to  sleep  on 
the  bare  wooden  benches  with  a  portmanteau  for  a  pillow  were 
not  particularly  successful.  However,  we  were  proceeding  to 
the  seat  of  war,  and  I  had  experienced  still  greater  discomforts 
on  a  tour  of  far  less  importance. 

After  a  halt  of  one  hour  at  Neustadt,  the  train  crossed  the 
Hardt  through  narrow  valleys  and  a  number  of  tunnels,  passing 
the  defile  in  which  Kaiserlautern  lies.  From  this  point  until 
we  reached  Homburg  it  poured  in  torrents  almost  without  ces- 
sation, so  that  when  we  arrived  at  that  station  at  lO  o'clock  the 
little  place  seemed  to  be  merely  a  picture  of  night  and  water. 
As  we  stepped  out  of  the  train  and  waded  through  swamp  and 
pool  with  our  luggage  on  our  shoulders,  we  stumbled  over  the 
rails  and  rather  felt  than  saw  our  way  to  the  inn  "  Zur  Post." 
There  we  found  every  bed  occupied  and  not  a  mouthful  left  to 
eat.  We  ascertained,  however,  that  had  even  the  conditions 
been  more  favourable  we  could  not  have  availed  ourselves  of 
them,  as  we  were  informed  that  the  Count  had  gone  on  with 
the  King,  and  was  at  that  moment  probably  in  Saarbrueck. 
There  was  no  time  to  be  lost  if  we  were  to  overtake  him  before 
he  left  Germany. 

It  was  far  from  pleasant  to  have  to  turn  out  once  more  into 
the  deluge,  but  we  were  encouraged  to  take  our  fate  philosophi- 
cally by  considering  the  still  worse  fate  of  others.  In  the  tap- 
room of  the  "  Post  "  the  guests  slept  on  chairs  enveloped  in  a 
thick  steam  redolent  of  tobacco,  beer,  and  smoking  lamps  and 
the  still  more  pungent  odour  of  damp  clothes  and  leather.  In 
a  hollow  near  the  station  we  saw  the  watchfire  of  a  large  camp 
half  quenched  by  the  rain  —  Saxon  countrymen  of  ours,  if  we 
were  rightly  informed.  While  wading  our  way  back  to  the 
train  we  caufrht  the  ^leam  of  the  helmets  and  arms  of  a  Prus- 


1870J  SLOW    I'ROGKESS  5 1 

sian  battalion  which  stood  in  the  pouring  rain  opposite  the  rail- 
way hotel.  Thoroughly  drenched  and  not  a  little  tired  we  at 
length  found  shelter  in  a  wagon,  where  Deichmann  cleared  a 
corner  of  the  floor  on  which  we  too  could  lie,  and  found  a  few 
handfuls  of  straw  to  serve  us  as  a  pillow.  My  other  two  com- 
panions were  not  so  fortunate.  They  had  to  manage  as  best 
they  could  on  the  top  of  boxes  and  packages  with  the  postmen 
and  transport  soldiers.  It  was  evident  that  the  poor  Professor, 
who  had  grown  very  quiet,  was  considerably  affected  by  these 
hardships. 

About  I  o'clock  the  train  set  itself  slowly  in  motion.  By 
daybreak,  after  several  stoppages,  we  reached  the  outskirts  of 
a  small  town  with  a  beautiful  old  church.  A  mill  lay  in  the 
valley  through  which  we  could  also  see  the  windings  of  the 
road  that  led  to  Saarbrueck.  We  were  told  that  this  town  was 
only  two  or  three  miles  off,  so  that  we  were  near  our  journey's 
end.  Our  locomotive,  however,  seemed  to  be  quite  out  of 
breath,  and  as  the  headquarters  might  at  any  moment  leave 
Saarbrueck  and  cross  the  frontier,  where  we  could  get  no  rail- 
way transport  and  in  all  probability  no  other  means  of  convey- 
ance, our  impatience  and  anxiety  increased,  and  our  tempers 
were  not  improved  by  a  clouded  sky  and  drizzling  rain.  Hav- 
ing waited  in  vain  nearly  two  hours  for  the  train  to  start,  Deich- 
mann again  came  to  our  rescue.  After  a  short  disappearance 
he  returned  with  a  miller  who  had  arranged  to  carry  us  to  the 
town  in  his  own  trap.  The  prudent  fellow,  however,  made 
Deichmann  promise  that  the  soldiers  should  not  take  his  horses 
from  him. 

During  the  drive  the  miller  told  us  that  the  Prussians  were 
understood  to  have  already  pushed  on  their  outposts  as  far  as 
the  neighbourhood  of  Metz.  Between  9  and  10  o'clock  we 
reached  Sanct  Johann,  a  suburb  of  Saarbrueck,  where  we  noticed 
very  few  signs  of  the  French  cannonade  a  few  days  ago,  although 
it  otherwise  presented  a  lively  and  varied  picture  of  war  times. 
A  huddled  and  confused  mass  of  canteen  carts,  baggage  waggons, 
soldiers  on  horse  and  foot,  and  ambulance  attendants  with  their 
red  crosses,  etc.,  filled  the  streets.  Some  Hessian  dragoon  and 
artillery  regiments  marched  through,  the  cavalrymen  singing, 
"■  MorgenrotJi  leuchtest  viir  zum  frucJien  Tod!''  (Dawn,  thou 
lightest  me  to  an  early  grave). 


52  I    REPORT    MYSELF  TO   BISMARCK  [Arc.  lo 

At  the  hotel  where  we  put  up  I  heard  that  the  Chancellor 
was  still  in  the  town,  and  lodged  at  the  house  of  a  merchant  and 
manufacturer  named  Haldy.  I  had  therefore  missed  nothing  by 
all  our  delays,  and  had  fortunately  at  length  reached  harbour. 
Not  a  minute  too  soon,  however,  as  on  going  to  report  my  arrival 
I  was  informed  by  Count  Bismarck-Bohlen,  the  Minister's  cousin, 
that  they  intended  to  move  on  shortly  after  midday.  I  bade 
good-bye  to  my  companions  from  Berlin,  as  there  was  no  room 
for  them  in  the  Chancellor's  suite,  and  also  to  our  London  friend, 
whose  patriotic  offer  General  Roon  was  regretfully  obliged  to 
decline.  After  providing  for  the  safety  of  my  luggage,  I  pre- 
sented myself  to  the  Count,  who  was  just  leaving  to  call  upon 
the  King.  I  then  went  to  the  Bureau  to  ascertain  if  I  could  be 
of  any  assistance.  There  was  plenty  to  do.  Every  one  had 
his  hands  full,  and  I  was  immediately  told  off  to  make  a  trans- 
lation for  the  King  of  Queen  Victoria's  Speech  from  the  Throne, 
which  had  just  arrived.  I  was  highly  interested  by  a  declaration 
contained  in  a  despatch  to  St.  Petersburg,  which  I  had  to  dic- 
tate to  one  of  our  deciphering  clerks,  although  at  the  time  I 
could  not  quite  understand  it.  It  was  to  the  effect  that  we 
should  not  be  satisfied  with  the  mere  fall  of  Napoleon. 

That  looked  like  a  foreshadowing  of  some  miracle. 

Strasburg !  and  perhaps  the  Vosges  as  our  frontier !  Who 
could  have  dreamed  of  it  three  weeks  before  ? 

In  the  meantime  the  weather  had  cleared  up.  Shortly  be- 
fore one  o'clock,  under  a  broiling  sun,  three  four-horse  carriages 
drew  up  before  our  door,  with  soldiers  riding  as  postilions.  One 
was  for  the  Chancellor,  another  for  the  Councillors  and  Count 
Bismarck-Bohlen,  and  the  third  for  the  Secretaries  and  Deci- 
pherers. The  two  Councillors  and  the  Count  having  decided 
to  ride,  I  took  a  place  in  their  carriage,  as  I  also  did  subse- 
quently whenever  they  went  on  horseback.  Five  minutes  later 
we  crossed  the  stream  and  entered  the  Saarbrueck  high  road, 
which  led  past  the  battlefield  of  the  6th  of  August.  Within 
half  an  hour  of  our  departure  from  Sanct  Johann  we  were  on 
French  soil.  There  were  still  many  traces  of  the  sanguinary 
struggle  that  had  raged  there  five  days  ago  —  branches  torn 
from  the  trees  by  artillery  fire,  fragments  of  accoutrements  and 
uniforms,  the  crops  trampled  into  the  earth,  broken  wheels,  pits 
dug  in  the  ground  by  exploding  shells,  and  small  wooden  crosses 


1870]  THE   CHANCKLLOK'S   STAFF  53 

rouf^jhly  tied  together,  probably  markine;  the  graves  of  officers 
and  others.  So  far  as  one  could  observe,  all  the  dead  had 
been  already  buried. 

Here  at  the  commencement  of  our  journey  through  France 
I  will  break  off  my  narrative  for  a  while  in  order  to  say  a  few 
words  about  the  Foreign  Office  Field  Bureau  and  the  way  in 
which  the  Chancellor  and  his  people  travelled,  lodged,  worked, 
and  lived.  The  Minister  had  selected  to  accompany  him  Herr 
Abeken  and  Herr  von  Keudell,  Count  Hatzfeld,  who  had  pre- 
viously spent  several  years  at  the  Embassy  in  Paris,  and  Count 
Bismarck-Bohlen,  all  four  Privy  Councillors  of  Legation.  After 
these  came  the  GeJicivi-Sekrctdr  Bolsing  of  the  Centralbureau, 
the  two  deciphering  clerks,  Willisch  and  St.  Blanquart,  and 
finally  myself.  At  Ferrieres  our  list  of  Councillors  was  com- 
pleted by  Lothar,  Bucher,  and  a  new  deciphering  clerk,  Herr 
Wiehr,  also  joined  us.  At  Versailles  the  number  was  further 
increased  by  Herr  von  Holstein,  subsequently  Councillor  of 
Embassy,  the  young  Count  Wartensleben,  and  Privy  Councillor 
Wagner,  the  latter,  however,  not  being  employed  on  Foreign 
Office  work.  Herr  Bolsing,  who  had  fallen  ill,  was  replaced  by 
Geheim-Sekretar  Wollman,  and  the  accumulation  of  work  after- 
wards required  a  fourth  deciphering  clerk.  Our  "  Chief,"  as 
the  Chancellor  was  usually  called  by  the  staff,  had  kindly  ar- 
ranged that  all  his  fellow-workers,  Secretaries  as  well  as  Coun- 
cillors, should  in  a  certain  sense  be  members  of  his  household. 
When  circumstances  permitted,  we  lodged  in  the  same  house 
and  had  the  honour  of  dining  at  his  table. 

Throughout  the  whole  war  the  Chancellor  wore  uniform. 
It  was  generally  the  well-known  undress  of  the  yellow  regiment 
of  heavy  Landwehr  cavalry.  During  the  early  months  of  the 
campaign  he  as  a  rule  only  wore  the  Commander's  Cross  of 
the  Order  of  the  Red  Eagle,  to  which  he  afterwards  added  the 
Iron  Cross.  I  only  saw  him  a  couple  of  times  in  a  dressing 
gown.  That  was  at  Versailles,  when  he  was  unwell,  the  only 
time,  as  far  as  I  know,  that  anything  ailed  him  throughout  the 
whole  war.  When  travelling  he  was  usually  accompanied  in 
the  carriage  by  Herr  Abeken,  but  on  some  occasions  he  took 
me  with  him  for  several  days  in  succession.  He  was  very 
easy  to  please  in  the  matter  of  his  quarters  and  was  willing  to 
put  up  with  the  most  modest  shelter  when  better  was  not  to  be 


54  HOW  THE  CHANCELLOR   WORKED  [Aug.  io 

had.  Indeed,  it  once  happened  that  there  was  no  bedstead  and 
that  his  bed  had  to  be  made  upon  the  floor. 

Our  carriages  usually  followed  immediately  after  those  of 
the  King's  suite.  We  started  generally  about  lo  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  sometimes  covered  as  much  as  sixty  kilometres  in 
the  day.  On  reaching  our  quarters  for  the  night  our  first  duty 
was  to  set  about  preparing  an  office,  in  which  there  was  seldom 
any  lack  of  work,  especially  when  we  had  the  Field  Telegraph 
at  our  disposal.  When  communications  were  thus  established, 
the  Chancellor  again  became  what,  with  short  intervals,  he  had 
been  throughout  this  entire  period :  namely,  the  central  figure 
of  the  whole  civilised  European  world.  Even  in  those  places 
where  we  only  stayed  for  one  night  he,  incessantly  active  him- 
self, kept  his  assistants  almost  continuously  engaged  until  a 
late  hour.  Messengers  were  constantly  going  and  coming  with 
telegrams  and  letters.  Councillors  were  drawing  up  notes, 
orders,  and  directions  under  instructions  from  their  chief,  and 
these  were  being  copied,  registered,  ciphered,  and  deciphered 
in  the  Chancellerie.  Reports,  questions,  newspaper  articles, 
etc.,  streamed  in  from  every  direction,  most  of  them  requiring 
instant  attention. 

Never,  perhaps,  was  the  well-nigh  superhuman  power  of 
work  shown  by  the  Chancellor,  his  creative,  receptive,  and 
critical  activity,  his  ability  to  deal  with  the  most  difficult  prob- 
lems, always  finding  the  right  and  the  only  solution,  more  strik- 
ingly evident  than  during  this  period.  The  inexhaustible  nature 
of  his  powers  was  all  the  more  astounding,  as  he  took  but  little 
sleep.  Except  when  a  battle  was  expected  and  he  rose  at  day- 
break to  join  the  King  and  the  army,  the  Chancellor  rose  rather 
late,  as  had  been  his  custom  at  home,  usually  about  lo  o'clock. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  spent  the  night  at  work,  and  only  fell 
asleep  as  daylight  began  to  appear.  He  was  often  hardly  out 
of  bed  and  dressed  before  he  commenced  work  again,  read- 
ing despatches  and  making  notes  u])on  them,  looking  through 
newspapers,  giving  instructions  to  his  Councillors  and  others, 
and  setting  them  their  various  tasks  or  even  writing  or  dic- 
tating. Later  on  there  were  visits  to  be  received,  audiences 
to  be  granted,  explanations  to  be  given  to  the  King.  Then 
followed  a  further  study  of  despatches  and  maps,  the  correction 
of  articles,  drafts  hurriedly  prepared  with  his  well-known  big 


iSyo]  THE   CIIANCKLLOR'S   TAHLK  55 

pencil,  letters  to  be  written,  information  to  be  telegraphed,  or 
published  in  the  newspapers,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all  the 
reception  of  visitors  who  could  not  be  refused  a  hearing  yet 
must  occasionally  have  been  unwelcome.  It  was  only  after  2, 
or  even  3  o'clock,  in  places  where  we  made  a  longer  stay,  that 
the  Chancellor  allowed  himself  a  little  recreation  by  taking  a 
ride  in  the  neighbourhood.  On  his  return  he  set  to  work  again, 
continuing  until  dinner  time,  between  5.30  and  6  p.m.  In  an 
hour  and  a  half  at  latest  he  went  back  to  his  writing-desk,  where 
he  frequently  remained  till  midnight. 

In  his  manner  of  taking  his  meals,  as  in  his  sleep,  the  Count 
differed  from  the  general  run  of  mankind.  Early  in  the  day  he 
took  a  cup  of  tea  and  one  or  two  eggs,  and  from  that  time  until 
evening  he,  as  a  rule,  tasted  nothing  more.  He  seldom  took 
any  luncheon  and  rarely  came  to  tea,  which  was  usually  served 
between  lo  and  11  at  night.  With  some  exceptions,  he  there- 
fore had  practically  but  one  meal  in  the  twenty-four  hours,  but, 
like  Frederick  the  Great,  he  then  ate  with  appetite.  Diplomats 
are  proverbially  fond  of  a  good  table,  being  scarcely  surpassed 
in  this  respect  by  the  clergy.  It  is  part  of  their  business,  as 
they  often  have  important  guests  who,  for  one  reason  or  another, 
must  be  put  in  good  humour,  and  it  is  universally  recognised 
that  nothing  is  better  calculated  to  that  end  than  a  well-filled 
cellar  and  a  dinner  which  shows  the  skill  of  a  highly  trained 
cJicf.  Count  Bismarck  also  kept  a  good  table,  which,  when  cir- 
cumstances permitted,  became  quite  excellent.  That  was  the 
case  for  instance  at  Rheims,  Meaux,  Ferri^res,  and  Versailles, 
where  the  genius  of  our  cook  in  the  Commissariat  uniform 
created  breakfasts  and  dinners  that  made  any  one  accustomed 
to  a  homely  fare  feel,  as  he  did  justice  to  them,  that  he  was 
at  length  resting  in  Abraham's  bosom,  particularly  when  some 
specially  fine  brand  of  champagne  was  added  to  the  other 
gracious  gifts  of  Providence.  During  the  last  five  months  our 
table  was  also  enriched  by  presents  from  home,  where,  as  was 
only  right  and  proper,  our  people  showed  how  fondly  they 
remembered  the  Chancellor  by  sending  him  plentiful  supplies 
of  good  things,  both  fluid  and  solid,  geese,  venison,  fish,  pheas- 
ants, monumental  pastry,  excellent  beer,  rare  wines,  and  other 
acceptable  delicacies. 

At  first  only  the  Councillors  wore  uniform,  Herr  von  Keu- 


56  PRIVY   COUNCILLOR   ABEKEN  [Aug.  io,   1870 

dell  that  of  the  Cuirassiers,  and  Count  Bismarck-Bohlen  that  of 
the  Dragoon  Guards,  while  Count  Hatzfeld  and  Herr  Abeken 
wore  the  undress  uniform  of  the  Foreign  Office.  It  was  after- 
wards suggested  that  the  whole  of  the  Minister's  personnel,  with 
the  exception  of  the  two  gentlemen  first  mentioned,  who  were 
also  officers,  should  be  allowed  the  same  privilege.  The  Chief 
gave  his  consent,  so  the  people  of  Versailles  had  an  opportunity 
of  seeing  our  Chancery  attendants  in  a  dark  blue  tunic  with  two 
rows  of  buttons,  black  collar  trimmed  with  velvet,  and  a  cap  of 
the  same  colour,  while  our  Councillors,  Secretaries,  and  Deci- 
pherers carried  swords  with  a  gold  sword  knot.  The  elderly 
Privy  Councillor  Abeken,  who  could  make  his  horse  prance  as 
proudly  as  any  cavalry  officer,  looked  wonderfully  warlike  in 
this  costume,  in  which,  I  fancy,  he  delighted  not  a  little.  It  was 
to  him  just  as  great  a  pleasure  to  show  off  in  all  this  military 
bravery  as  it  had  been  to  travel  through  the  Holy  Land  dressed 
up  as  an  Oriental,  although  he  did  not  understand  a  word  of 
Turkish  or  Arabic. 


CHAPTER  III 

FROM  THE  FRONTIER  TO  GRAVELOTTE 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  broke  off  my  narrative  at  the 
French  frontier.  We  recognised  that  we  had  crossed  it  by  the 
notices  posted  in  the  villages,  "  Departement  de  la  Moselle." 
The  white  roads  were  thronged  with  conveyances,  and  in  every 
hamlet  troops  were  billeted.  In  these  hilly  and  partially 
wooded  districts  we  saw  small  camps  being  pitched  here  and 
there.  After  about  two  hours'  drive  we  reached  Forbach, 
which  we  passed  through  without  stopping.  In  the  streets 
through  which  we  drove  the  signboards  were  almost  entirely 
French,  although  the  names  were  chiefly  German.  Some  of 
the  inhabitants  who  were  standing  at  their  doors  greeted  us  in 
passing.  Most  of  them,  however,  looked  sulky,  which,  although 
it  did  not  add  to  their  beauty,  was  natural  enough,  as  they 
had  evidently  plenty  of  soldiers  to  provide  quarters  for.  The 
windows  were  all  full  of  Prussians  in  blue  uniforms.  We  thus 
jogged  on,  up  hill  and  down  dale,  reaching  Saint  Avoid  about 
half-past  four.  Here  we  took  up  lodgings.  Chancellor  and  all, 
with  a  M.  Laity,  at  No.  301  Rue  des  Charrons.  It  was  a  one- 
story  house,  but  rather  roomy,  with  a  well-kept  fruit  and 
vegetable  garden  at  the  back.  The  proprietor,  who  was  said 
to  be  a  retired  officer,  and  appeared  to  be  well  to  do,  had  gone 
away  with  his  wife  the  day  before,  leaving  only  a  maid  and  an 
old  woman,  who  spoke  nothing  but  French.  In  half  an  hour 
we  had  fixed  up  our  office  and  chosen  our  sleeping  quarters. 
Work  began  without  delay.  As  there  was  nothing  to  be  done 
in  my  department,  I  tried  to  assist  in  deciphering  the  de- 
spatches, an  operation  which  offers  no  particular  difficulties. 

At  seven  o'clock  we  dined  with  the  Chancellor  in  a  little 
room  looking  out  on  a  small  courtyard  with  some  flower  beds. 
The  conversation  at  table  was  very  lively,  the  Minister  having 
most  to  say.     He  did  not  consider  a  surprise  impossible,  as  he 

57 


58  BISMARCK   ON   RELIGIOUS   LIBERTY  [Auc.   12 

had  satisfied  himself  during  his  walk  that  our  outposts  were 
only  three-quarters  of  an  hour  from  the  town  and  very  wide 
apart.  He  had  asked  at  one  post  where  the  next  was  stationed, 
but  the  men  did  not  know.  He  said,  "While  I  was  out  I  saw 
a  man  with  an  axe  on  his  shoulder  following  close  at  my  heels. 
I  kept  my  hand  on  my  sword,  as  one  cannot  tell  in  certain 
circumstances  what  may  happen ;  but  in  any  case  I  should 
have  been  ready  first."  He  remarked  later  on  that  our  land- 
lord had  left  all  his  cupboards  full  of  underclothing,  adding, 
"  If  this  house  should  be  turned  into  an  ambulance  hospital,  his 
wife's  fine  underlinen  will  be  torn  up  for  lint  and  bandages, 
and  quite  properly.  But  then  they  will  say  that  Count  Bis- 
marck took  the  things  away  with  him." 

We  came  to  speak  of  the  disposal  of  the  troops  in  action. 
The  Minister  said  that  General  Steinmetz  had  shown  himself 
on  that  occasion  to  be  self-willed  and  disobedient.  "  Like 
Vogel  von  Falkenstein,  his  habit  of  taking  the  law  into  his 
own  hands  will  do  him  harm  in  spite  of  the  laurels  he  won  at 
Skalitz." 

There  was  cognac,  red  wine,  and  a  sparkling  Mayence  wine 
on  the  table.  Somebody  mentioned  beer,  saying  that  probably 
we  should  be  unable  to  obtain  it.  The  Minister  replied,  "  That 
is  no  loss !  The  excessive  consumption  of  beer  is  deplorable. 
It  makes  men  stupid,  lazy,  and  useless.  It  is  responsible  for 
the  democratic  nonsense  spouted  over  the  tavern  tables.  A 
good  rye  whiskey  is  very  much  better." 

I  cannot  now  remember  how  or  in  what  connection  we  came 
to  speak  about  the  Mormons.  The  Minister  was  surprised  at 
their  polygamy,  "  as  the  German  race  is  not  equal  to  so  much 
—  Orientals  seem  to  be  more  potent."  He  wondered  how  the 
United  States  could  tolerate  the  existence  of  such  a  ]K)lygamous 
sect.  The  Count  took  this  opportunity  of  speaking  of  religious 
liberty  in  general,  declaring  himself  very  strongly  in  favour  of 
it.  But,  he  added,  it  must  be  exercised  in  an  impartial  spirit. 
"  Every  one  must  be  allowed  to  seek  salvation  in  his  own  way. 
I  shall  propose  that  one  day,  and  Parliament  will  certainly 
approve.  As  a  matter  of  course,  however,  the  property  of  the 
Church  must  remain  with  the  old  churches  that  acquired  it. 
Whoever  retires  must  make  a  sacrifice  for  his  conviction,  or 
rather  his  unbelief."     "  People  think  little  the  worse  of  Catho- 


iSyoJ  A    MYTHOLOGICAL  OJNVERSATION  59 

lies  for  being  orthodox,  and  have  no  objection  whatever  to  Jews 
being  so.  It  is  altogether  different  with  Lutherans,  however, 
and  that  church  is  constantly  charged  with  a  spirit  of  persecu- 
tion if  it  rejects  unorthodox  members.  But  it  is  considered 
quite  in  order  that  the  orthodox  should  be  persecuted  and 
scoffed  at  in  the  press  and  in  daily  life." 

After  dinner  the  Chancellor  and  Councillors  took  a  walk  in 
the  garden,  from  which  a  large  building  distinguished  by  a  flag 
with  the  Geneva  Cross  was  visible  at  a  little  distance  to  the 
right.  We  could  see  a  number  of  nuns  at  the  windows,  who 
were  watching  us  through  opera  glasses.  It  was  evidently  a 
convent  that  had  been  turned  into  a  hospital.  In  the  evening 
one  of  the  deciphering  clerks  expressed  great  anxiety  as  to  the 
possibility  of  a  surprise,  and  we  discussed  what  should  be  done 
with  the  portfolios  containing  State  papers  and  ciphers  in  such 
circumstances.  I  tried  to  reassure  them,  promising  to  do  my 
utmost  either  to  save  or  destroy  the  papers,  should  necessity 
arise. 

There  was  no  occasion  for  anxiety.  The  night  passed 
quietly.  Next  morning  as  we  were  at  lunch  a  green  FeldjageVy 
or  Royal  Courier,  arrived  with  despatches  from  Berlin.  Although 
such  messengers  usually  make  rapid  progress,  this  one  had  not 
travelled  any  quicker  than  I  had  done  in  my  fear  to  arrive  too 
late.  He  left  on  Monday,  the  8th  of  August,  and  had  several 
times  taken  a  special  conveyance,  yet  he  had  spent  nearly  four 
days  on  the  way,  as  it  was  now  the  12th.  I  again  assisted  the 
Decipherers.  Afterwards,  while  the  Minister  was  with  the  King, 
I  visited  the  large  and  beautiful  town  church  with  the  Coun- 
cillors, the  chaplain  showing  us  round.  In  the  afternoon,  while 
the  Minister  was  out  for  a  ride,  we  inspected  the  Prussian  artil- 
lery park  on  a  neighbouring  height. 

We  dined  at  four,  on  the  Chancellor's  return.  He  had 
ridden  a  long  way  in  order  to  see  his  two  sons,  who  were  serv- 
ing as  privates  in  a  regiment  of  dragoon  guards,  but  found  that 
the  German  cavalry  had  already  pushed  forward  towards  the 
upper  reaches  of  the  Moselle.  He  was  in  excellent  spirits, 
evidently  owing  to  the  good  fortune  which  continued  to  favour 
our  cause.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation,  which  turned  on 
mythology,  the  Chief  said  he  could  never  endure  Apollo,  who 
flayed  Marsyas  out  of  conceit  and  envy,  and  slew  the  children 


6o  ALARM    IN    PARIS  [Aug.  14 

of  Niobe  for  similar  reasons.  "  He  is  the  genuine  type  of  a 
Frenchman,  one  who  cannot  bear  that  another  should  play  the 
flute  better  than,  or  as  well  as,  himself."  Nor  was  Apollo's 
manner  of  dealing  with  the  Trojans  to  the  Count's  taste.  The 
straightforward  Vulcan  would  have  been  his  man,  or,  better 
still,  Neptune  —  perhaps  because  of  the  Qtios  ego!  —  but  he  did 
not  say. 

After  rising  from  table  we  had  good  news  to  telegraph  to 
Berlin  for  circulation  throughout  the  whole  country,  namely, 
that  there  were  ten  thousand  prisoners  in  our  hands  on  the  7th 
of  August,  and  that  a  great  effect  had  been  produced  on  the 
enemy  by  the  victory  at  Saarbrueck.  Somewhat  later  we  had 
further  satisfactory  particulars  to  send  home.  The  Minister  of 
Finance  in  Paris,  evidently  in  consequence  of  the  rapid  advance 
of  the  German  forces,  had  invited  the  French  people  to  deposit 
their  gold  in  the  Bank  of  France  instead  of  keeping  it  in  their 
houses. 

There  was  also  some  talk  of  a  proposed  proclamation  for- 
bidding and  finally  abolishing  the  conscription  in  the  districts 
occupied  by  the  German  troops.  We  also  heard  from  Madrid 
that  the  Montpensier  party,  some  politicians  belonging  to  the 
Liberal  Union  such  as  Rios  Rosas  and  Topete,  as  well  as  various 
other  party  leaders,  were  exerting  every  effort  to  bring  about 
the  immediate  convocation  of  the  representative  assembly  in 
order  that  the  Provisional  Government  should  be  put  an  end 
to  by  the  election  of  a  King.  The  Due  de  Montpensier,  whom 
they  had  in  view  as  a  candidate,  was  already  in  the  Spanish 
capital.  The  Government,  however,  obstinately  opposed  this 
plan. 

Early  next  morning  we  broke  up  our  quarters  and  started 
for  the  small  town  of  Falquemont,  which  we  now  call  P'alken- 
berg.  The  road  was  thronged  with  long  lines  of  carts,  artillery, 
ambulances,  military  j^olice,  and  couriers.  While  some  detach- 
ments of  infantry  marched  along  the  highway,  others  crossed 
the  stubble  fields  to  the  right,  being  guided  by  wisj^s  of  straw 
tied  to  poles  stuck  in  the  ground.  Now  and  then  we  saw  men 
fall  out  of  the  ranks  and  others  lying  in  the  furrows,  fagged  out, 
while  a  pitiless  August  sun  glared  down  from  a  cloudless  sky. 
Thick  yellow  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  the  marching  of  the 
troops  followed  us  into  Falkenberg,  a  place  of  about  two  thou- 


1870]  THE   AUMV   OS  THE   MARCH  61 

sand  inhabitants,  where  I  put  up  at  the  house  of  the  baker, 
Schmidt.  Wc  lost  sit^ht  of  the  Minister  in  the  crowd  and  dust, 
and  I  only  afterwards  ascertained  that  he  had  gone  on  to  see 
the  King  at  the  village  of  Herny.  The  march  of  the  troops 
through  the  town  continued  almost  uninterruptedly  the  whole 
day.  A  Saxon  regiment,  which  was  stationed  quite  near  us, 
frequently  sent  their  caterers  to  our  baker  for  bread,  but  the 
su})ply  was  soon  exhausted  owing  to  the  enormous  demand. 

In  the  afternoon  some  Prussian  hussars  brought  in  a  num- 
ber of  prisoners  in  a  cart,  including  a  Turco  who  had  exchanged 
his  fez  for  a  civilian's  hat.  In  another  part  of  the  town  we 
witnessed  a  brawl  between  a  shopman  and  one  of  the  female 
camp-followers  who  had  stolen  some  of  his  goods,  which  she 
was  obliged  to  restore.  So  far  as  I  could  see,  our  people 
always  paid  for  what  they  asked,  sometimes  doing  even  more. 

The  people  where  I  lodged  were  very  polite  and  good 
humoured.  Both  husband  and  wife  spoke  a  German  dialect, 
which  was  occasionally  helped  out  with  French  words.  From 
the  sacred  pictures  which  were  hung  on  the  walls  they  appeared 
to  be  Catholics.  I  had  an  opportunity  later  on  of  doing  them 
a  small  service,  when  some  of  our  soldiers  insisted  willy  nilly 
upon  a  supply  of  bread,  which  the  baker  was  unable  to  give 
them,  as  there  were  only  two  or  three  loaves  in  the  shop.  But 
I  must  do  my  countrymen  the  justice  to  say  that  they  wanted 
the  food  badly,  and  were  willing  to  pay  for  it.  I  proposed  a 
compromise,  which  was  accepted :  each  soldier  was  at  once 
to  get  a  good  slice  and  as  much  as  ever  he  required  next 
morning. 

On  Sunday,  the  14th  of  August,  after  luncheon,  we  followed 
the  Minister  to  Herny.  He  had  taken  up  his  quarters  in  a 
whitewashed  peasant's  house,  a  little  off  the  High  Street, 
where  his  window  opened  upon  a  dung-hill.  As  the  house  was 
pretty  large,  we  all  joined  him  there.  Count  Hatzfeld's  room 
also  served  as  our  office.  The  King  had  his  quarters  at  the 
parish  priest's,  opposite  the  venerable  old  church.  The  village 
consisted  of  one  long  wide  street,  with  some  good  municipal 
buildings.  At  the  railway  station  we  found  everything  in  the 
wildest  confusion,  the  whole  place  littered  with  torn  books, 
papers,  &c.  Some  soldiers  kept  watch  over  two  French  pris- 
oners.     For  several  hours  after  4  p.:»i.   we    heard   the   heavy 


62  INSTRUCTIONS   FOR   THE   PRP:SS  [Auu  15 

thunder  of  cannon  in  the  direction  of  Mctz.  At  tea  the  Min- 
ister said :  "  I  little  thought  a  month  ago  that  I  should  be  tak- 
ing tea  with  you,  gentlemen,  to-day  in  a  farmhouse  at  Herny." 
Coming  to  speak  of  the  Due  de  Grammont,  the  Count  wondered 
that,  on  seeing  the  failure  of  his  stupid  policy  against  us,  he 
had  not  joined  the  army  in  order  to  expiate  his  blunders.  He 
was  quite  big  and  strong  enough  to  serve  as  a  soldier.  "  I 
should  have  acted  differently  in  1866  if  things  had  not  gone  so 
well.  I  should  have  at  once  enlisted.  Otherwise  I  could  never 
have  shown  myself  to  the  world  again." 

I  was  frequently  called  to  the  Minister's  room  to  receive 
instructions.  Our  illustrated  papers  were  to  publish  pictures 
of  the  charge  at  Spichernberg,  and  also  to  deny  the  statement 
of  the  Constitutiomiel  that  the  Prussians  had  burnt  down  every- 
thing on  their  march,  leaving  nothing  but  ruins  behind  them. 
We  could  say  with  a  clear  conscience  that  we  had  not  observed 
the  least  sign  of  this.  It  was  also  thought  well  to  reply  to 
the  Neiic  Freic  Pressc,  which  had  hitherto  been  well  disposed 
towards  us,  but  had  now  adopted  another  policy,  possibly 
because  it  had  lost  some  subscribers  who  objected  to  its  Prus- 
sophile  tone,  or  perhaps  there  was  something  in  the  rumour 
that  the  Franco-Hungarian  party  intended  to  purchase  it.  The 
Chancellor,  in  giving  instructions  respecting  another  article  of 
the  Constitutionncl,  concluded  as  follows :  "  Say  that  there 
never  was  any  question  in  the  Cabinet  Council  of  a  cession 
of  Saarbrucck  to  France.  The  matter  never  went  beyond  the 
stage  of  confidential  inquiries,  and  it  is  self-evident  that  a 
national  Minister,  inspired  by  the  national  spirit,  could  never 
have  dreamt  of  such  a  course.  There  might,  however,  have 
been  some  .slight  basis  for  the  rumour.  A  misunderstanding  or 
a  distortion  of  the  fact  that  previous  to  1864  the  question  was 
raised  whether  it  would  not  be  desirable  to  sell  the  coal  mines 
at  Saarbrueck,  which  are  State  property,  to  a  company.  I 
wanted  to  meet  the  exj^enses  of  the  Schleswig-Holstein  war  in 
this  way.  But  the  proposal  came  to  nothing,  owing  to  the 
King's  objections  to  the  transaction." 

On  Monday,  August  15th,  about  6  a.m.,  the  Minister  drove 
off  in  his  carriage,  accompanied  by  Count  Bismarck-Pohlen, 
and  followed  on  horseback  by  Herr  Abcken,  Herr  von  Keudell, 
and  Count  Hatzfeld.     The  rest  of  us  remained  behind,  where 


iSjoJ  THK   ATirrUDE   01'"   THE    INHAHITANTS  63 

we  had  plenty  of  work  on  hand,  and  could  make  ourselves 
useful  in  other  ways.  Several  detachments  of  infantry  passed 
through  the  village  during  the  day,  amongst  them  being  three 
Prussian  regiments  and  a  number  of  Pomeranians,  for  the 
most  part  tall,  handsome  men.  The  bands  played  "  Heil  dir 
im  Siegerkranz,"  and  "  Ich  bin  ein  Preusse."  One  could  see  in 
the  men's  eyes  the  fearful  thirst  from  which  they  were  suffer- 
ing. We  speedily  organised  a  fire  brigade  with  pails  and  jugs 
and  gave  as  many  as  possible  a  drink  of  water  as  they  marched 
by.  They  could  not  stop.  Some  took  a  mouthful  in  the  palms 
of  their  hands,  whilst  others  filled  the  tin  cans  which  they 
carried  with  them,  so  that  at  least  a  few  had  some  momentary 
relief. 

Our  landlord,  Matthiote,  knew  a  little  German,  but  his  wife 
only  spoke  the  somewhat  unintelligible  French  dialect  of  this 
part  of  Lorraine.  They  were  thought  not  to  be  too  friendly 
towards  us,  but  the  Minister  had  not  observed  it.  He  had  only 
seen  the  husband  and  said  he  was  not  a  bad  fellow.  "  He 
asked  me  as  he  brought  in  the  dinner  if  I  would  try  his  wine. 
I  found  it  very  tolerable,  but  on  my  offering  to  pay  for  it  he 
declined,  and  would  only  accept  payment  for  the  food.  He 
inquired  as  to  the  future  frontier,  and  expected  that  they  would 
be  better  off  in  the  matter  of  taxation." 

We  saw  little  of  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  village.  Those 
we  met  were  polite  and  communicative.  An  old  peasant  woman 
w^hom  I  asked  for  a  light  for  my  cigar  led  me  into  her  room 
and  showed  me  a  photograph  of  her  son  in  a  French  uniform. 
Bursting  into  tears  she  reproached  the  Emperor  with  the 
war.  Wqv paavre  gargo}i  was  certainly  dead,  and  she  was  incon- 
solable. 

The  Councillors  returned  after  three  o'clock,  the  Minister 
himself  coming  in  a  little  later.  In  the  meantime  we  were 
joined  by  Count  Henckel,  a  portly  gentleman  with  a  dark 
beard,  Herr  Bamberger,  a  member  of  the  Reichstag  whom 
Count  Bohlen  was  accustomed  to  call  the  "  Red  Jew,"  and  a 
Herr  von  Olberg,  who  was  to  be  appointed  to  an  administrative 
position  of  some  kind.  We  began  to  feel  ourselves  masters  of 
the  conquered  country  and  to  make  our  arrangements  accord- 
ingly. As  to  the  portion  which  we  at  that  time  proposed  to 
retain  permanently,  a  telegram  to  St.  Petersburg  which  I  helped 


64  A   RUSSIAN   ANECDOTE  LAug.  i6 

to  cipher  said  that  if  it  were  the  will  of  Providence  we  intended 
to  annex  Alsace. 

We  heard  at  dinner  that  the  King  and  the  Chancellor,  ac- 
companied by  General  Steinmetz,  had  made  a  reconnaissance 
which  took  them  within  about  three  English  miles  of  Metz. 
The  French  troops  outside  the  fortress  had  been  driven  into 
the  city  and  forts  on  the  previous  day  by  Steinmetz's  impetuous 
attack  at  Courcelles. 

In  the  evening,  as  we  sat  on  a  bench  outside  the  door,  the 
Minister  joined  us  for  a  moment.  He  asked  me  for  a  cigar,  but 
Councillor  Taglioni,  the  King's  decipherer,  was  quicker  than 
I,  which  was  a  pity,  as  mine  were  much  better.  At  tea  the 
Chancellor  mentioned  in  the  course  of  conversation  that  on  two 
occasions  he  had  been  in  danger  of  being  shot  by  a  sentry,  once 
at  San  Sebastian  and  another  time  at  Schluesselburg.  From 
this  we  learned  that  he  also  understood  a  little  Spanish.  Passing 
from  the  Schluesselburg  story,  he  came  to  relate  the  following 
anecdote,  which,  however,  I  was  unable  to  hear  quite  clearly, 
and  so  cannot  vouch  whether  it  occurred  to  the  Minister  him- 
self or  to  some  one  else.  One  day  the  Count  was  walking  in 
the  Summer  Garden  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  met  the  Emperor, 
with  whom,  as  a  Minister  in  high  favour,  his  relations  were 
somewhat  unreserved.  The  two,  after  strolling  on  together  for 
a  while,  saw  a  sentry  posted  in  the  middle  of  a  grass  plot. 
Bismarck  took  the  liberty  to  ask  what  he  was  doing  there. 
The  Emperor  did  not  know,  and  questioned  the  aide-de-camp, 
who  was  also  unable  to  explain.  The  aide-de-camp  was  then 
sent  to  ask  the  sentry.  His  answer  was,  "  It  has  been  ordered," 
a  reply  which  was  repeated  by  every  one  of  whom  the  aide-de- 
camp inquired.  The  archives  were  searched  in  vain  —  a  sentry 
had  always  been  posted  there.  At  last  an  old  footman  remem- 
bered that  his  father  had  told  him  that  the  Empress  Catherine 
had  once  seen  an  early  snowdrop  on  that  spot,  and  had  given 
instructions  that  it  should  not  be  plucked.  They  could  find  no 
better  way  of  preserving  it  than  by  placing  a  sentry  to  guard 
it,  who  was  afterwards  kept  on  as  a  matter  of  habit.  The  anti- 
German  feeling  in  Holland  and  its  causes  were  then  referred  to. 
It  was  thought  to  be  partly  due  to  the  circumstance  that  Van 
Zuyler,  when  he  was  Dutch  Minister  at  Berlin,  had  made  him- 
self   unpleasant,   and    consecjuently   did    not    receive   as    much 


1870 1  HEAVY    IIGIITINC;   NEAR    METZ  65 

consideration  as  he  desired,  so  that  he  possibly  left  us  in  ill- 
humour. 

On  the  i6th  of  August,  at  9.30  a.m.,  we  started  for  Pont  a 
Mousson.  On  the  excellent  high  road  to  that  town  we  passed 
through  several  villages  with  fine  buildings,  containing  the 
public  offices  and  schools.  The  whole  way  was  brightened  by 
detachments  of  soldiers,  horse  and  foot,  and  a  great  variety  of 
vehicles.  Here  and  there  also  we  saw  small  encampments.  A 
little  after  three  o'clock  we  reached  our  destination,  a  town  of 
about  eight  thousand  inhabitants.  Passing  the  market-place, 
where  a  regiment  of  Saxon  infantry  were  bivouacked,  some  of 
them  lying  on  the  ground  on  bundles  of  straw,  we  turned  into 
the  Rue  St.  Laurent.  Here  the  Chancellor,  with  three  of  the 
Councillors,  took  up  their  residence  at  the  corner  of  Rue  Rau- 
graf  in  a  little  chateau  overgrown  with  red  creepers.  The 
rest  of  the  party  lived  a  few  doors  off.  I  slept  with  Saint 
Blanquart  in  a  room  which  was  a  veritable  museum  of  natural 
history  and  ethnology,  being  filled  with  the  most  varied  trophies 
from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

After  a  hasty  toilette  we  returned  to  the  office.  On  our 
way  we  observed  a  number  of  notices  posted  on  the  walls,  one 
announcing  our  victory  of  the  fourteenth,  another  respecting 
the  abolition  of  the  conscription,  and  a  third  by  the  Mayor, 
apparently  in  connection  with  some  attacks  by  civilians  on  our 
troops,  warning  the  inhabitants  to  maintain  a  prudent  attitude. 
There  was  also  an  order  issued  by  our  people  strictly  enjoining 
the  population  to  keep  lights  in  their  windows  at  night,  and  to 
leave  the  doors  of  houses  and  shops  open,  and  to  deliver  up  all 
arms  at  the  Town  Hall. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  afternoon  we  again  heard  the 
distant  roar  of  cannon,  and  ascertained  at  dinner  that  there  had 
been  renewed  fighting  near  Metz.  Some  one  remarked  that 
perhaps  it  would  not  be  possible  to  prevent  the  French  retiring 
to  Verdun.  The  Minister  replied,  smiling,  "That  hardened 
reprobate  Molk  (Moltke)  says  it  would  be  no  misfortune,  as 
they  would  then  be  delivered  all  the  more  surely  into  our 
hand  "  —  which  must  mean  that  we  could  surround  and  anni- 
hilate them  while  they  were  retreating.  Of  the  other  remarks 
made  by  the  Chancellor  on  this  occasion  I  may  mention  his 
reference  to  the   "  small  black  Saxons,   who  looked   so  intelli- 


66  CHASSEPOrS   at   mars    la   tour  [Aug.  17 

gent "  and  who  pleased  him  so  much  on  his  paying  them  a  visit 
the  day  before.  These  were  either  the  dark  green  Chasseurs 
or  the  1 08th  Regiment,  which  wore  the  same  coloured  uniform. 
"  They  seem  to  be  sharp,  ready  fellows,"  he  added,  "  and  the 
fact  ought  to  be  mentioned  in  the  newspapers." 

On  the  following  night  we  were  awakened  several  times  by 
the  steady  tramp  of  infantry  and  the  rumbling  of  heavy  wheels 
as  they  rolled  over  the  rough  pavement.  We  heard  next  morn- 
ing that  they  were  Hessians.  The  Minister  started  shortly 
after  4  a.m.,  intending  to  proceed  towards  Metz,  where  an  im- 
portant battle  was  expected  either  that  day  or  the  next.  As  it 
appeared  probable  that  1  should  have  little  to  do,  I  availed 
myself  of  the  opportunity  to  take  a  walk  in  the  environs  with 
Willisch.  Going  up  stream  we  came  upon  a  pontoon  bridge 
erected  by  the  Saxons,  who  had  collected  there  a  large  number 
of  conveyances,  amongst  others  some  carts  from  villages  near 
Dresden.  We  swam  across  the  clear  deep  river  and  back 
again. 

On  returning  to  the  bureau  in  the  Rue  Raugraf  we  found 
that  the  Chancellor  had  not  yet  arrived.  We  had  news,  how- 
ever, of  the  battle  which  had  been  fought  the  day  before  to  the 
west  of  Metz.  There  were  heavy  losses  on  our  side,  and  it  was 
only  with  great  dif^culty  that  Bazaine  was  prevented  from 
breaking  through  our  lines.  It  was  understood  that  the  village 
of  Mars  la  Tour  was  the  point  at  which  the  conflict  had  raged 
most  violently.  The  leaden  rain  of  the  chassepots  was  literally 
like  a  hailstorm.  One  of  the  cuirassier  regiments,  we  were  told, 
with  the  exaggeration  which  is  not  unusual  in  such  cases,  was 
almost  utterly  destroyed  and  the  dragoon  guards  had  also 
suffered  severely.  Not  a  single  division  escaped  without  heavy 
losses.  To-day,  however,  we  had  superior  numbers,  as  the 
French  had  had  yesterday,  and  if  the  latter  attempted  another 
sortie  we  might  expect  to  be  victorious. 

It  did  not,  however,  appear  certain,  and  we  were  accordingly 
somewhat  uneasy.  We  could  not  sit  still  or  think  steadily,  and, 
as  in  fever,  we  were  oppressed  by  the  same  ideas,  which  re- 
turned again  and  again.  We  walked  to  the  market  and  then  to 
the  bridge,  where  we  saw  the  wounded,  who  were  now  gradu- 
ally coming  in,  those  with  light  injuries  on  foot  and  the  others 
in  ambulance  cars.      On  the  road  toward  Metz  we  met  a  batch 


1S70J  GKNKRAL   SUKRIDAN  6/ 

of  over  120  prisoners.  They  were  for  the  most  part  small, 
poor-looking-  specimens;  but  there  were  also  amongst  them 
some  tall,  broad-shouldered  fellows  from  the  guards,  who  could 
be  recognised  by  the  white  facings  of  their  tunics.  Then  once 
more  to  the  market-place  and  around  the  garden  behind  the 
house,  where  a  dog  lies  buried  under  a  tombstone  with  the  fol- 
lowing touching  inscription :  — 

Girarcl  Aubert  (5pitaphe  k  sa  chienne. 
Ici  tu  gis,  nia  vieille  amie, 
Tu  n'es  done  plus  pour  mes  vieux  jours. 
O  toi,  ma  Diane  cherie, 
Je  te  pleurerai  toujours. 

At  length,  about  six  o'clock,  the  Chancellor  returned.  No 
great  battle  had  taken  place  that  day,  but  it  was  highly  prob- 
able that  an  engagement  would  occur  on  the  morrow.  The 
Chief  told  us  at  dinner  that  he  had  visited  his  eldest  son,  Count 
Herbert,  in  the  field  ambulance  at  Mariaville,  where  he  was  lying 
in  consequence  of  a  bullet  wound  in  the  thigh,  which  he  had 
received  during  the  general  cavalry  charge  at  Mars  la  Tour. 
After  riding  about  for  some  time  the  Minister  at  length  found 
his  son  in  a  farmhouse  with  a  considerable  number  of  other 
wounded  soldiers.  They  were  in  charge  of  a  surgeon,  who  was 
unable  to  obtain  a  supply  of  water,  and  who  scrupled  to  take 
the  turkeys  and  chickens  that  were  running  about  the  yard  for 
the  use  of  his  patients.  "  He  said  he  could  not,"  added  the 
Minister,  "  and  all  our  arguments  were  in  vain.  I  then  threat- 
ened to  shoot  the  poultry  with  my  revolver  and  afterwards  gave 
him  twenty  francs  to  pay  for  fifteen.  At  last  I  remembered 
that  I  was  a  Prussian  General,  and  ordered  him  to  do  as  I  told 
him,  whereupon  he  obeyed  me.  I  had,  however,  to  look  for  the 
w^ater  myself  and  to  have  it  fetched  in  barrels." 

In  the  meantime  the  American  General  Sheridan  had  ar- 
rived in  the  town  and  asked  for  an  interview  with  the  Chan- 
cellor. He  had  come  from  Chicago,  and  lodged  at  the  Croix 
Blanc  in  the  market-place.  At  the  desire  of  the  Minister  I 
called  upon  General  Sheridan  and  informed  him  that  Count 
Bismarck  would  be  pleased  to  see  him  in  the  course  of  the  even- 
ing. The  General  was  a  small,  corpulent  gentleman  of  about 
forty-five,  with  dark  moustache  and  chin  tuft,   and  spoke  the 


68  WE   DRIVE  TO   THE   BAITLEFIELU  [Arc.  19 

purest  Yankee  dialect.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  aide-de- 
camp,  Forsythe,  and  a  journalist  named  MacLean,  who  served 
as  an  interpreter,  acting  at  the  same  time  as  war  correspondent 
for  the  New  York  World. 

During  the  night  further  strong  contingents  of  troops 
marched  through  the  town  —  Saxons,  as  we  ascertained  next 
day.  In  the  morning  we  heard  that  the  King  and  Chancellor 
had  gone  off  at  3  a.m.  A  battle  was  being  fought  on  about  the 
same  ground  as  that  of  the  i6th,  and  it  appears  as  if  this  en- 
gagement were  to  prove  decisive.  It  will  be  easily  understood 
that  we  were  still  more  excited  than  we  had  been  during  the 
last  few  days.  Uneasy,  and  impatient  for  particulars  of  what 
was  passing,  we  started  in  the  direction  of  Metz,  going  some 
four  kilometres  from  Pont  a  Mousson,  suffering  both  mentally 
and  physically,  from  our  anxiety  and  suspense  as  well  as  from 
the  sweltering  heat  of  a  windless  day  and  a  blazing  sky.  We 
met  numbers  of  the  less  severely  wounded  coming  towards  the 
town,  singly,  in  couples,  and  in  large  companies.  Some  still 
carried  their  rifles,  while  others  leant  upon  sticks.  One  had 
the  red  cape  of  a  French  cavalryman  thrown  over  his  shoulders. 
They  had  fought  two  days  before  at  Mars  la  Tour  and  Gorze. 
They  had  only  heard  rumours  of  this  day's  battle,  and  these, 
good  and  bad  as  they  happened  to  be,  were  soon  circulated  in 
an  exaggerated  form  throughout  the  town.  The  good  news  at 
length  seemed  to  get  the  upper  hand,  although  late  in  the  even- 
ing we  had  still  heard  nothing  definite.  We  dined  without  our 
Chief,  for  whom  we  waited  in  vain  until  midnight.  Later  on 
we  heard  that  he,  accompanied  by  Sheridan  and  Count  Bis- 
marck-Bohlen,  was  with  the  King  at  Rezonville. 

On  Friday,  August  the  19th,  when  we  ascertained  for  cer- 
tain that  the  Germans  had  been  victorious,  Abeken,  Kcudcll, 
Hatzfeld,  and  I  drove  to  the  battlefield.  At  Gorze  the  Coun- 
cillors got  out,  intending  to  proceed  farther  on  horseback.  The 
narrow  road  was  blocked  with  all  sorts  of  conveyances,  so  that 
it  was  impossible  for  our  carriage  to  pass.  From  the  same 
direction  as  ourselves  came  carts  with  hay,  straw,  wood,  and 
baggage,  while  ammunition-waggons  and  vehicles  conveying  the 
wounded  were  coming  the  other  way.  The  latter  were  being 
moved  into  the  houses,  nearly  all  of  which  were  turned  into 
hospitals  and  were  distinguished  by  the  Geneva  cross.    At  almost 


1870]  TIIK   FlKSr  TRACES   OF  THE    IJA'ITLE  69 

every  window  wc  could  see  men  with  their  heads  or  arms  in 
bandages. 

After  about  an  hour's  delay  we  were  able  to  move  slowly 
forward.  The  road  to  the  right  not  far  from  Gorze  would  have 
taken  us  in  little  over  half  an  hour  to  Rezonville,  where  I  was  to 
meet  the  Minister  and  our  horsemen.  My  map,  however,  failed 
to  give  me  any  guidance,  and  I  was  afraid  of  going  too  near 
Metz.  I  therefore  followed  the  high  road  further,  and  passing 
a  farm  where  the  house,  barn,  and  stables  were  full  of  wounded, 
we  came  to  the  village  of  Mars  la  Tour. 

Immediately  behind  Gorze  we  had  already  met  traces  of  the 
battle,  —  pits  dug  in  the  earth  by  shells,  branches  torn  off  by 
shot,  and  some  dead  horses.  As  we  went  on  we  came  upon  the 
latter  more  frequently,  occasionally  two  or  three  together,  and 
at  one  place  a  group  of  eight  carcasses.  Most  of  them  were 
fearfully  swollen,  with  their  legs  in  the  air,  while  their  heads 
lay  slack  on  the  ground.  There  was  an  encampment  of  Saxon 
troops  in  Mars  la  Tour.  The  village  seemed  to  have  suffered 
little  from  the  engagement  of  the  i6th.  Only  one  house  was 
burned  down.  I  asked  a  lieutenant  of  Uhlans  where  Rezonville 
was.  He  did  not  know.  Where  was  the  King  ?  "  At  a  place 
about  two  hours  from  here,"  he  said,  "  in  that  direction,"  —  point- 
ing towards  the  east.  A  peasant  woman  having  directed  us  the 
same  way,  we  took  that  road,  which  brought  us  after  a  time  to 
the  village  of  Vionville.  Shortly  before  reaching  this  place  I 
saw  for  the  first  time  one  of  the  soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  the 
late  battle,  a  Prussian  musketeer.  His  features  were  as  dark  as 
those  of  a  Turco,  and  were  fearfully  bloated.  All  the  houses  in 
the  village  were  full  of  men  who  were  severely  wounded.  Ger- 
man and  French  assistant-surgeons  and  hospital  attendants,  all 
wearing  the  Geneva  cross,  were  busy  moving  from  place  to 
place. 

I  decided  to  wait  there  for  the  Minister  and  the  Councillors, 
as  I  believed  they  must  certainly  pass  that  way  soon.  As  I 
went  towards  the  battlefield  through  a  side  street,  I  saw  a  human 
leg  lying  in  a  ditch,  half  covered  with  a  bundle  of  blood-stained 
rags.  Some  four  hundred  paces  from  the  village  were  two  par- 
allel pits  about  three  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  neither  wide 
nor  deep,  at  which  the  grave  diggers  were  still  working.  Near 
by  had  been  collected  a  great  mass  of  German  and  French  dead. 


70  THE   HORRORS   OF   WAR  [Aug.  19 

Some  of  the  bodies  were  half  naked,  but  most  of  them  were 
still  in  uniform.  All  were  of  a  dark  grey  colour  and  were  fear- 
fully swollen  from  the  heat.  There  might  have  been  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  corpses  in  all,  and  others  were  being  constantly 
unloaded  from  the  carts.  Doubtless,  many  had  already  been 
buried.  Further  on  in  the  direction  of  Metz  the  ground  rose 
slightly,  and  there  in  particular  great  numbers  appeared  to 
have  fallen.  The  ground  was  everywhere  covered  with  French 
caps,  Prussian  helmets,  knapsacks,  arms,  uniforms,  undercloth- 
ing, shoes,  and  paper.  Here  and  there  in  the  furrows  of  a 
potato  field  lay  single  bodies,  one  with  a  whole  leg  torn  away, 
another  with  half  the  head  blown  off,  while  some  had  the  right 
hand  stretched  out  stiffly  pointing  towards  the  sky.  There  were 
also  a  few  single  graves,  marked  with  a  chassepot  stuck  in  the 
ground  or  with  a  cross  made  from  the  wood  of  a  cigar  box 
roughly  tied  together.  The  effluvium  was  very  noticeable,  and 
at  times,  when  the  wind  came  from  the  direction  of  a  heap  of 
dead  horses,  it  became  unendurable. 

It  was  time  to  return  to  the  carriage,  and  besides  I  had  seen 
quite  enough  of  the  battlefield.  I  took  another  way  back,  but 
I  was  again  obliged  to  pass  further  masses  of  the  dead,  this 
time  all  French.  Near  some  of  the  bodies  lay  packets  of  letters 
that  had  been  carried  in  their  knapsacks.  I  brought  some  of 
these  with  me  as  a  memento,  amongst  them  being  two  letters 
in  German  from  one  Anastasia  Stampf,  of  Scherrweiler,  near 
Schlettstadt.  These  I  found  lying  by  a  French  soldier  who 
had  been  stationed  at  Caen  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
war.  One  of  them,  in  indifferent  spelling,  was  dated  "  The 
25th  of  the  Hay  Month,  1870,"  and  concluded  with  the  words, 
"  We  constantly  commend  thee  to  the  protection  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin !  " 

It  was  four  o'clock  when  I  got  back,  and  as  the  Minister  had 
not  arrived,  we  returned  to  Gorze.  Here  we  met  Keudell,  who, 
with  Abeken  and  Count  Hatzfcld,  had  called  upon  the  Chief  at 
Rezonville.  During  the  battle  of  the  i8th  instant,  which  was 
decided  at  Gravelotte,  the  Minister  had,  together  with  the  King, 
ventured  a  considerable  distance  towards  the  front,  so  that  for 
a  time  both  of  them  were  in  some  danger.  Bismarck  had  after- 
wards with  his  own  hands  taken  water  to  the  wounded.  At 
9  P.M.    I   saw  him   again   safe   and   sound   at   Pont  a   Mousson, 


1870]  NOBLE   FAMILIES    IN    MOURNING  71 

where  we  all  took  supper  with  him.  Naturally,  the  conversa- 
tion turned  for  the  most  part  on  the  last  two  battles  and  the 
resulting  gains  and  losses.  The  French  had  fallen  in  huge 
masses.  The  Minister  had  seen  our  artillery  mow  down  whole 
lines  of  their  guards  near  Gravelotte.  We  had  also  suffered 
severely.  Only  the  losses  of  the  i6th  of  August  were  known 
up  to  the  present.  "  A  great  many  noble  Prussian  families  will 
go  into  mourning,"  the  Chief  said.  "  Wcsdehlen  and  Reuss  lie 
in  their  graves,  VVedell  and  Finkenstein  are  dead,  Rahden 
(Lucca's  husband)  is  shot  through  both  cheeks,  and  a  crowd  of 
officers  commanding  regiments  or  battalions  have  either  fallen 
or  are  severely  wounded.  The  whole  field  near  Mars  la  Tour 
was  yesterday  still  white  and  blue  with  the  bodies  of  cuirassiers 
and  dragoons."  In  explanation  of  this  statement,  we  were 
informed  that  near  the  village  referred  to  there  had  been  a 
great  cavalry  charge  upon  the  French,  who  were  pressing  for- 
ward in  the  direction  of  Verdun.  This  charge  was  repelled  by 
the  enemy's  infantry  in  Balaclava  fashion,  but  had  so  far  served 
its  purpose  that  the  French  were  kept  in  check  until  reinforce- 
ments arrived.  The  Chancellor's  two  sons  had  also  gallantly 
ridden  into  that  leaden  hailstorm,  the  elder  receiving  no  less 
than  three  bullets,  one  passing  through  the  breast  of  his  tunic, 
another  hitting  his  watch,  and  the  third  lodging  in  his  thigh. 
The  younger  appears  to  have  escaped  unhurt.  The  Chief  re- 
lated, evidently  with  some  pride,  how  Count  Bill  rescued  two 
comrades  who  had  lost  their  horses,  dragging  them  out  of  the 
vielee  in  his  powerful  grasp  and  riding  off  with  them.  Still 
more  German  blood  was  shed  on  the  i8th,  but  we  secured  the 
victory,  and  obtained  the  object  of  our  sacrifices.  That  even- 
ing Bazaine's  army  had  finally  retired  to  Metz,  and  even  French 
officers  whom  we  had  captured  admitted  that  they  now  believed 
their  cause  was  lost.  The  Saxons,  who  had  made  long  marches 
on  the  two  previous  days,  were  able  to  take  an  important  part 
in  the  battle  near  the  village  of  Saint  Privat.  They  now  oc- 
cupied the  road  to  Thionville,  so  that  Metz  was  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  our  troops. 

It  appeared  that  the  Chancellor  did  not  quite  approve  of 
the  course  taken  by  the  military  authorities  in  both  battles. 
Among  other  things  he  said  that  Steinmetz  had  abused  the 
really  astounding  gallantry  of  our  men  —  "he  was  a  spendthrift 


72  HUNTING    srORIES  [Arc;.  21 

of  blood."  The  Minister  spoke  with  violent  indignation  of  the 
barbarous  manner  in  which  the  French  conducted  the  war ; 
they  were  said  to  have  fired  upon  the  Geneva  cross  and  even 
upon  a  flag  of  truce. 

Sheridan  seemed  to  have  speedily  got  on  a  friendly  footing 
with  the  Minister,  as  I  was  instructed  to  invite  him  and  his  two 
companions  to  dinner  on  the  following  evening. 

At  1 1  o'clock  on  the  20th  of  August  the  Chancellor  received 
a  visit  from  the  Crown  Prince,  who  was  stationed  with  his 
troops  about  twenty-five  English  miles  from  Pont  a  Mousson 
on  the  road  from  Nancy  to  Chalons.  In  the  afternoon  some 
twelve  hundred  prisoners,  including  two  carts  conveying  offi- 
cers, passed  through  the  Rue  Notre  Dame  in  charge  of  a 
detachment  of  Prussian  cuirassiers.  Sheridan,  Forsythe,  and 
MacLean  dined  that  evening  with  the  Minister,  who  kept  up  a 
lively  conversation  in  good  English  with  the  American  Gen- 
eral. The  Chief  and  his  American  guests  had  champagne  and 
porter.  The  latter  was  drunk  out  of  pewter  mugs,  one  of 
which  the  Minister  filled  for  me.  I  mention  this  because  no 
one  else  at  table  had  porter,  and  the  gift  was  particularly  wel- 
come, as  since  we  left  Saarbrueck  we  had  had  no  beer.  Sheri- 
dan, who  was  known  as  a  successful  soldier  on  the  Federal  side 
in  the  last  year  of  the  American  Civil  War,  spoke  a  good  deal. 
He  told  us  of  the  hardships  he  and  his  companions  had  under- 
gone during  the  ride  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Chicago, 
of  the  fearful  swarms  of  mosquitoes,  of  a  great  heap  of  bones 
in  California  or  thereabouts  in  which  fossils  were  found,  and  of 
buffalo  and  bear  hunting,  &c.  The  Chancellor  also  told  some 
huntinLC  stories.  One  day  in  Finland  he  found  himself  in 
dangerous  proximity  to  a  big  bear.  It  was  white  with  snow 
and  he  had  barely  been  able  to  see  it.  "At  last  I  fired,  how- 
ever, and  the  bear  fell  some  six  paces  from  me.  But  it  was  not 
killed,  and  might  get  up  again.  I  knew  what  I  had  to  expect, 
and  so  without  stirring  I  quietly  reloaded,  and  as  soon  as  it 
stirred  I  shot  it  dead." 

We  were  very  busy  on  the  forenoon  of  the  21st  of  August, 
preparing  reports  and  leading  articles  to  be  forwarded  to 
Germany.  We  heard  that  the  bearer  of  a  flag  of  truce  who 
was  fired  upon  by  the  P'rench  was  Captain  or  Major  Verdy,  of 
Moltke's  General  .Staff,  and  that  the  trumpeter  who  accompa- 


1S70I  llIF   JKALOUSV    AMONG   OUR    GEXliKALS  73 

nicd  him  was  wounded.  Trustworthy  information  was  received 
from  r^lorence  to  the  effect  that  Victor  Emmanuel  and  his 
Ministers  had,  in  consequence  of  our  victories,  decided  to 
observe  neutrality,  which  up  to  that  time  was  anything  but 
certain.  Now  it  was  at  last  possible  to  estimate,  at  least  ap- 
proximately, the  losses  of  the  French  at  Courcelles,  Mars  le 
Tour,  and  Gravelotte.  The  Minister  put  them  at  about  50,000 
men  during  the  three  days,  of  whom  about  12,000  were  killed. 
He  added  :  "  The  ambition  and  mutual  jealousy  of  some  of  our 
generals  were  to  blame  for  the  severity  of  our  losses.  That  the 
guards  charged  too  soon  was  entirely  due  to  their  jealousy  of 
the  Sa.xons  who  were  coming  up  behind  them." 

That  afternoon  I  had  some  talk  with  one  of  the  dragoon 
guards  who  had  been  in  the  charge  on  the  French  battery 
on  the  1 6th.  He  maintained  that  besides  Finkenstein  and 
Reuss  the  two  Treskows  were  also  dead  and  buried;  and  that 
after  the  battle  one  squadron  had  been  formed  out  of  the  three 
squadrons  of  his  regiment  that  had  been  in  action,  and  one 
regiment  out  of  the  two  dragoon  regiments  that  had  been 
engaged.  He  spoke  very  modestly  about  that  gallant  deed. 
"  We  had  to  charge,"  he  said,  "in  order  to  prevent  our  artillery 
being  taken  by  the  enemy."  While  I  was  talking  to  him,  some 
Saxon  infantry  passed  by  with  a  batch  of  about  150  prisoners. 
I  ascertained  from  the  escort  that  after  their  long  march  the 
Saxons  had  fought  in  the  battle  near  Roncourt  and  Saint  Privat. 
Once  they  had  charged  with  the  bayonet  and  the  butt  ends  of 
their  rifles.  They  had  lost  a  good  many  officers,  including 
General  Krausshaar. 

As  I  entered  the  room  that  evening  at  tea  time,  the  Chief 
said :  —  "  How  are  you,  doctor  .''  " 

"  I  thank  your  Excellency,  quite  well." 

"  Have  you  seen  something  of  what  has  been  going  on  ? " 

"Yes,  your  Excellency,  the  battlefield  near  Vionville." 

"  It  is  a  pity  you  were  not  with  us  to  share  our  adventures 
on  the  i8th." 

The  Chancellor  then  went  on  to  give  us  a  full  account  of  his 
experiences  during  the  last  hours  of  the  battle  and  the  following 
night.  I  shall  give  these  and  other  particulars  later  on,  as  I 
heard  them  from  the  Minister.  Here  I  will  only  mention  that 
the   King  had  ventured  too  far  to  the  front,  which    Bismarck 


74  PRIN'CE    LUrrrOLD'S   SECREI"    hopes  [Aug.  22 

thought  was  not  right.  Referring  to  our  men,  the  American 
General  Sheridan  said  :  "  Your  infantry  is  the  best  in  the  world; 
but  it  was  wrong  of  your  generals  to  advance  their  cavalry  as 
they  did."  I  may  further  mention  that  Bohlen  in  the  course  of 
the  conversation  said  to  the  Chancellor :  "  Did  you  hear  how 
the  Bavarian  muttered  when  the  result  seemed  doubtful  — 
'Things  look  bad!  It's  a  bad  case!'  —  and  was  obviously 
delighted  to  think  we  were  going  to  be  beaten.?"  The  Bava- 
rian referred  to  was  Prince  Luitpold.  The  name  of  General 
Steinmetz  then  came  up.  The  Chancellor  said  that  he  was 
brave,  but  self-willed  and  excessively  vain.  Small  and  slight  of 
figure,  when  he  came  into  the  Diet  he  always  stood  near  the 
President's  chair  so  as  to  be  noticed.  He  used  to  attract  at- 
tention by  pretending  to  be  very  busy  taking  notes  of  what 
went  on,  as  if  he  were  following  the  debate  with  great  care. 
"  He  evidently  thought  the  newspapers  would  mention  it,  and 
praise  his  zeal.  If  I  am  not  mistaken  his  calculation  proved 
correct." 

On  Monday,  the  22nd  of  August,  I  wrote  in  my  diary : 
"  Called  to  the  Chief  at  10.30  a.m.  He  asked  first  after  my 
health  and  whether  I  also  had  been  attacked  by  dysentery. 
He  had  had  a  bad  time  of  it  the  night  before.  The  Count 
down  with  dysentery  !  God  save  him  from  it !  It  would  be 
worse  than  the  loss  of  a  battle.  Without  him  our  whole  cause 
would  be  reduced  to  uncertainty  and  vacillation." 

On  the  instructions  of  the  Chief  I  sent  the  Koclnische 
Zeitung  the  translation  of  part  of  a  confidential  report  accord- 
ing to  which  the  Emperor  Alexander  was  favorably  disposed 
towards  the  French.  I  also  wired  to  lierlin  respecting  the 
closing  of  some  small  telegraph  offices  the  officials  of  which 
were  required  for  the  field  service. 

There  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  we  shall  retain  Alsace 
and  Metz,  with  its  environs,  in  case  of  a  final  victory  over 
France.  The  considerations  that  have  led  the  Chancellor  to 
this  conclusion,  and  which  have  already  been  discussed  in  an 
academic  way  in  the  English  press,  are  somewhat  as  follows  :  — 

A  war  indemnity,  however  great  it  may  be,  would  not  com- 
pensate us  for  the  enormous  sacrifices  we  have  made.  We 
must  protect  South  Germany  with  its  exposed  position  against 
French  attacks  and  thus  put  an  end  to  the  pressure  exercised 


1S70]  ANNEXATION    INDISPENSABLE  75 

upon  it  by  France  durinj^  two  centuries,  especially  as  this  pres- 
sure has  durin<^  the  whole  time  greatly  contributed  to  German 
disorganisation  and  confusion.  Baden,  Wurtemberg,  and  the 
other  south-western  districts  must  not  in  future  be  threatened 
by  Strasburg  and  subject  to  attack  from  that  point.  This 
also  applies  to  Bavaria.  Within  150  years  the  French  have 
made  war  upon  South-west  Germany  more  than  a  dozen  times. 
Efforts  were  made  in  18 14  and  181 5  in  a  forbearing  spirit  to 
secure  guarantees  against  a  renewal  of  such  attacks.  That 
forbearance,  however,  was  without  effect,  and  it  would  now  also 
remain  fruitless.  The  danger  lies  in  the  incurable  arrogance 
and  lust  of  power  which  is  part  of  the  French  character, 
qualities  that  might  be  abused  by  every  ruler  —  not  by  any 
means  by  the  Bonapartes  alone  —  for  the  purpose  of  attacking 
peaceful  neighbours.  Our  protection  against  this  evil  does  not 
lie  in  vain  attempts  periodically  to  soothe  French  susceptibili- 
ties, but  rather  in  securing  a  well-defended  frontier.  France, 
by  repeatedly  annexing  German  territory  and  all  the  natural 
defences  on  our  western  frontier,  has  put  herself  in  a  position 
to  force  her  way  into  South  Germany  with  a  comparatively 
small  force  before  assistance  can  be  brought  from  the  north. 
Such  invasions  have  repeatedly  occurred  under  Louis  XIV.  and 
his  successor,  as  well  as  under  the  Republic  and  the  First 
Empire,  and  the  sense  of  insecurity  obliges  the  German  States 
to  reckon  constantly  with  France.  That  the  annexation  of  a 
piece  of  territory  will  produce  bitter  feelings  amongst  the 
French  is  a  matter  of  no  consequence.  Such  feelings  would 
exist  in  any  case,  even  without  any  cession  of  territory. 
Austria  did  not  lose  an  acre  of  soil  in  1866,  and  yet  what 
thanks  have  we  had .-'  Our  victory  at  Sadowa  had  already  filled 
the  French  with  hatred  and  vexation.  How  much  stronger 
must  that  sentiment  be  after  our  victories  at  Worth  and  Metz ! 
Revenge  for  those  defeats  will  continue  to  be  the  war  cry  in 
Paris  even  without  any  annexation,  and  will  spread  to  influen- 
tial circles  in  the  provinces,  just  as  the  idea  of  revenge  for 
Waterloo  was  kept  alive  there  for  decades.  An  enemy  who 
cannot  be  turned  into  a  friend  by  considerate  treatment  must 
be  rendered  thoroughly  and  permanently  harmless.  Not  the 
demolition,  but  the  surrender,  of  the  eastern  fortresses  of 
France  can   alone   serve  our  purpose.      Whoever  desires  dis- 


76  A   GERMAN    EMPIRE   SUGGESTED  [Aug.  22,  1870 

armament  must  wish  to  see  France's  neighbours  adopt  this 
course,  as  France  is  the  sole  disturber  of  European  peace,  and 
will  remain  so  as  long  as  she  can. 

It  is  astonishing  how  freely  this  idea  of  the  Chief's  now 
flows  from  one's  pen.  What  looked  like  a  miracle  ten  days 
ago  seems  now  quite  natural  and  a  matter  of  course.  Per- 
haps the  suggestion  as  to  a  German  Empire  which  is  under- 
stood to  have  been  mentioned  during  the  visit  of  the  Crown 
Prince  is  also  an  idea  of  the  same  kind.  Blessings  follow  closely 
upon  each  other's  heels.  We  may  now  regard  everything  as 
probable. 

At  dinner  the  Minister  complained  of  the  excessive  frugality 
with  which  the  principal  officials  of  the  Royal  Household 
catered  for  the  King's  table.  "There  is  seldom  any  cham- 
pagne, and  in  the  matter  of  food  also  short  commons  is  the 
rule.  When  I  glance  at  the  number  of  cutlets  I  only  take  one, 
as  I  am  afraid  that  otherwise  somebody  else  would  have  to  go 
without."  These  remarks,  like  similar  hints  given  recently, 
were  intended  for  one  or  other  of  the  gentlemen  from  the 
Court,  with  a  view  to  their  being  repeated  in  the  proper  quarter. 
The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  improper,  not  to  say  dis- 
graceful, manner  in  which  the  French  soldiers  carried  on  the 
war.  The  Minister  said  they  had  killed  one  of  our  officers  near 
Mars  la  Tour  (Finkenstein,  I  believe  it  was)  while  he  was  sitting 
wounded  by  the  roadside.  One  of  the  company  maintained 
that  he  had  been  shot,  but  another  said  that  an  examination  of 
the  body  by  a  doctor  showed  that  the  officer  had  been  stabbed. 
The  Chief  remarked  that  if  he  had  to  choose,  he  should  prefer 
being  stabbed  to  being  shot. 

Count  Herbert  has  been  brought  in  from  the  Field  Hospital, 
and  a  bed  has  been  prepared  for  him  on  the  floor  in  his  father's 
room.  I  was  talking  to  him  to-day.  His  wound  is  painful,  but 
up  to  the  present  it  does  not  appear  to  be  dangerous.  He  is  to 
return  to  Germany  one  of  these  days,  where  he  will  remain 
until  he  has  recovered. 


CHAPTER  IV 

COMMERCY BAR  LE  DUG CLERMONT  EN  ARGONNE 

On  Tuesday,  August  23rd,  we  were  to  continue  our  journey 
westwards.  Sheridan  and  his  companions  were  to  accompany 
us  or  to  follow  without  delay.  Rcgierimgspraesident  von  Kuehl- 
wetter  remained  behind  as  Prefect ;  Count  Henckel  went  to 
Saargemund,  and  Count  Renard,  a  huge  figure  with  a  beard  of 
corresponding  amplitude,  went  to  Nancy  in  a  similar  capacity. 
Bamberger,  the  member  of  Parliament,  visited  us  again.  I  also 
noticed  Herr  Stieber  on  one  occasion  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  house  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Raugraf,  and  as  I  was  walk- 
ing about  the  town  to  take  a  last  look  at  the  place  before 
leaving,  I  saw  the  fine-drawn,  wrinkled,  clean-shaven  face  of 
Moltke,  whom  I  had  last  seen  as  he  entered  the  Foreign  Office 
in  company  with  the  Minister  of  War  five  or  six  days  before 
the  declaration  of  hostilities.  It  seemed  to  me  that  his  features 
wore  to-day  an  expression  of  perfect  content  and  satisfaction. 

On  my  return  to  the  office  I  was  much  interested  by  a  report 
of  the  views  recently  expressed  by  Thiers  as  to  the  immediate 
future  of  France.  He  regarded  it  as  certain  that  in  case  of 
victory  we  should  retain  Alsace.  The  defeat  of  Napoleon 
would  be  followed  by  the  loss  of  his  throne.  He  would  be 
succeeded  for  a  few  months  by  a  Republic,  and  then  probably 
by  one  of  the  Orleans  family,  or  perhaps  by  Leopold  of  Bel- 
gium, who,  according  to  the  source  from  which  our  informant 
obtained  his  news  (one  of  Rothschild's  confidants),  was  known 
on  the  best  authority  to  be  extremely  ambitious. 

We  left  Pont  a  Mousson  at  10  o'clock.  In  the  villages  along 
the  road  the  houses  stood  side  by  side  as  in  a  town.  Most  of 
them  possessed  handsome  municipal  buildings  and  schools,  and 
some  had  seemingly  ancient  Gothic  churches.  On  the  other 
side  of  Gironville  the  road  passes  a  steep  hill  with  a  wide  pros- 
pect of  the  plain  beneath.      Here  we  left  the  carriages  in  order 

77 


78  THE  pRosrEcrs  of  the  Orleans  [Auu.  23 

to  ease  the  load  for  the  horses.  The  Chancellor,  who  drove  at 
the  head  of  our  party  with  Abeken,  also  got  out  and  walked  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  his  big  boots  reminding  one  of  pictures  of 
the  thirty  years'  war.  Moltke  walked  beside  him  ;  the  greatest 
strategist  of  our  days  striding  along  towards  Paris  on  a  country 
road  near  the  French  frontier  in  company  with  the  greatest 
statesman  of  our  time ! 

After  we  had  returned  to  the  carriages  we  saw  a  number  of 
soldiers  to  the  right  putting  up  a  telegraph  line.  Shortly  after 
2  o'clock  we  came  to  Commercy,  a  bright  little  town  with  about 
6000  inhabitants.  The  white  blinds  in  the  better-class  houses 
were  for  the  most  part  drawn  down,  as  if  the  occupants  did  not 
wish  to  see  the  hated  Prussians.  The  people  in  blouses  were 
more  curious  and  less  hostile. 

The  Chief,  together  with  Abeken  and  Keudell,  took  up  their 
quarters  in  the  chateau  of  Count  Macore  de  Gaucourt  in  the 
Rue  des  Fontaines,  where  a  Prince  von  Schwarzburg  had 
lodged,  and  which  was  now  occupied  by  the  lady  of  the  house. 
Her  husband  was  in  the  French  army  and  was  accordingly  with 
his  regiment  in  the  field.  He  was  a  very  distinguished  gentle- 
man, being  descended  from  the  old  dukes  of  Lorraine.  There 
was  a  pretty  flower  garden  near  the  house,  and  behind  it  was 
a  large  wooded  park.  I  put  up  not  far  from  the  Minister's 
quarters  at  No.  i  Rue  Heurtebise,  where  I  had  a  friendly  and 
obliging  landlord  and  an  excellent  fourpost  bed.  I  called  after- 
wards on  the  Chancellor,  whom  I  found  in  the  garden,  and 
asked  if  there  was  anything  for  me  to  do.  After  thinking  for 
a  moment,  he  said  there  was,  and  an  hour  later  I  provided  work 
both  for  the  Field  Post  and  the  new  telegraph  line. 

Amongst  other  things  I  wrote  the  following  paragraph:  "It 
is  now  quite  clear  that  the  Princes  of  the  Orleans  family  con- 
sider that  their  time  has  come,  as  they  expect  to  see  the  star  of 
the  Napoleons  sink  lower  and  lower.  In  order  to  emphasise 
the  fact  that  they  are  Frenchmen,  they  have  placed  their 
swords  in  the  present  crisis  at  the  service  of  their  country.  The 
Orleans  lost  their  throne  in  great  part  through  their  own  slug- 
gishness and  their  indifference  to  the  development  of  neigh- 
bouring .States.  They  would  now  appear  determined  to  regain 
it  by  energy,  and  to  maintain  their  ])ositif)n  by  flattering  French 
chauvinism,   and  love   of  glory  and   universal   dominion.      Our 


1870]  RESERVE   ARMIES  IN   GERMANY  79 

wo.k  is  not  yet  done.  A  decisive  victory  is  probable,  but  is  not 
yet  certain.  The  fall  of  Napoleon  seems  near  at  hand,  but  it 
is  not  yet  accomplished.  Even  should  it  occur,  could  we,  in 
view  of  the  considerations  already  mentioned,  rest  content  with 
it  and  accept  it  as  the  sole  result  of  our  exertions,  could  we  feel 
confident  of  having  attained  our  principal  object,  namely,  to 
secure  peace  with  France  for  many  years  to  come.-*  No  one 
can  answer  that  question  in  the  affirmative.  A  peace  with  the 
Orleans  on  the  French  throne  would  be  still  more  a  mockery 
than  one  with  Napoleon,  who  must  already  have  had  enough 
of  '  la  gloire.'  Sooner  or  later  we  should  be  again  challenged 
by  France,  who  probably  would  be  then  better  prepared  and 
would  have  secured  more  powerful  allies." 

Three  reserve  army  corps  are  to  be  formed  in  Germany. 
One,  and  the  strongest,  near  Berlin;  one  on  the  Rhine;  and  a 
third  at  Glogau  in  Silesia,  in  consequence  of  the  equivocal 
attitude  of  Austria.  That  would  be  a  purely  defensive  measure. 
The  troops  on  the  Rhine  are  to  be  commanded  by  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  those  near  Berlin  by  General  von  Can- 
stein,  and  those  at  Glogau  by  General  von  Lowenfeld. 

Towards  evening  the  military  band  played  before  the  resi- 
dence of  the  King,  the  street  urchins  holding  their  notes  for  the 
musicians  in  the  friendliest  possible  manner.  The  King  had 
also  stopped  at  Commercy  during  the  war  against  the  First 
Napoleon. 

Counts  Waldersee  and  Lehndorff,  and  Lieutenant-General 
von  Alvensleben  (from  Magdeburg)  were  amongst  the  Chief's 
guests  at  dinner.  Alvensleben  told  us  the  story  of  a  so-called 
"Marl-Major"  who  was  accustomed  to  attribute  all  sorts  of 
occurrences  to  geognostic  causes.  He  reasoned  somewhat  in 
this  style :  "  It  follows  from  the  character  and  conduct  of  the 
Maid  of  Orleans  that  she  could  only  have  been  born  on  a  fertile 
marly  soil,  that  she  was  fated  to  gain  a  victory  in  a  limestone 
country,  and  to  die  in  a  sandstone  district." 

Speaking  of  the  barbarous  way  in  which  the  French  con- 
ducted the  war,  Alvensleben  said  that  they  had  also  fired  upon 
a  flag  of  truce  at  Toul.  On  the  other  hand,  an  officer  who  for 
a  joke  rode  along  the  glacis  had  a  friendly  chat  with  the  gentle- 
men on  the  walls.  The  question  whether  it  would  be  possible 
to  take  Paris  by  storm  in  spite  of  its  fortifications  was  answered 


8o  SHOULD    PARIS   BE   DlvSlROVED?  [Aug.  24 

in  the  affirmative  by  the  mihtary  guests.  General  Alvensleben 
said :  "  A  great  city  of  that  kind  cannot  be  successfully  de- 
fended if  it  is  attacked  by  a  sufficiently  numerous  force." 
Count  Waldersee  wished  to  "  see  Babel  utterly  destroyed  "  and 
brought  forward  arguments  in  favour  of  that  measure  with 
which  I  was  immensely  pleased.  The  Minister,  however,  re- 
plied :  "  Yes,  that  would  be  a  very  good  thing,  but  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  many  reasons.  One  of  these  is  that  numbers  of  Germans 
in  Cologne  and  Frankfort  have  considerable  sums  invested 
there." 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  our  conquests  in  France 
and  those  still  to  be  made.  Alvensleben  was  in  favour  of  keep- 
ing the  country  up  to  the  Marne.  Bismarck  had  another  idea, 
which,  however,  he  seemed  to  think  it  impossible  to  realise. 
"  My  ideal  would  be,"  he  said,  "  a  kind  of  German  colony,  a 
neutral  State  of  eight  or  ten  million  inhabitants,  free  from  the 
conscription  and  whose  taxes  should  flow  to  Germany  so  far  as 
they  were  not  required  for  domestic  purposes.  France  would 
thus  lose  a  district  from  which  she  draws  her  best  soldiers,  and 
would  be  rendered  harmless.  In  the  rest  of  France  no  Bourbon, 
no  Orleans,  and  probably  no  Bonaparte,  neither  Lulu  (the 
Prince  Imperial)  nor  the  fat  Jerome,  nor  the  old  one.  I  did  not 
wish  for  war  in  connection  with  the  Luxemburg  affair,  as  I 
knew  that  it  would  lead  to  six  others.  But  we  must  now  put 
an  end  to  all  this.  However,  we  must  not  sell  the  bear's  skin 
before  we  have  killed  it.  I  confess  I  am  superstitious  in  that 
respect."  "Never  mind,"  said  Count  Waldersee,  "our  bear  is 
already  badly  hit." 

The  Chief  then  again  referred  to  the  royal  table  and  to  the 
frugal  manner  in  which  food  was  doled  out  to  the  guests,  his 
remarks  being  probably  intended  for  Count  Lehndorff,  who 
was  expected  to  repeat  them.  "  We  had  cutlets  there  recently, 
and  I  could  not  take  two  as  there  was  only  one  apiece  for  us. 
Rabbit  followed,  and  I  debated  with  myself  whether  I  should 
take  a  second  portion,  although  I  could  easily  have  managed 
four.  At  length  hunger  overcame  my  politeness  and  I  seized  a 
second  piece,  though  I  am  sure  I  was  robbing  somebody  else." 

The  Chancellor  then  went  on  t(;  speak  oi  his  sons.  "  I 
hope,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  be  able  to  keep  at  least  one  of  my 
youngsters —  I   mean  Herbert,  who  is  on  his  way  to  Germany. 


iSyo]  TH1-;    IKON    CROSS    FOR   THE    BAVARIANS  8 1 

He  got  to  feel  himself  quite  at  home  in  camp.  Formerly  he 
was  apt  to  be  haughty,  but  as  he  lay  wounded  at  Pont  a  Mous- 
son  he  was  almost  more  friendly  with  the  common  troopers 
who  visited  him  than  with  the  officers." 

At  tea  we  were  told  that  in  1814  the  King  had  his  quarters 
in  the  same  street  where  he  now  lives,  next  door  to  the  house 
he  occupies  at  present.  The  Chief  seems  to  have  spoken  to  him 
to-day  about  decorating  Bavarian  soldiers  with  the  Iron  Cross. 
The  Minister  said:  "My  further  plan  of  campaign  for  his 
Majesty  is  that  part  of  his  escort  should  be  sent  on  ahead. 
The  country  must  be  scoured  by  a  company  to  the  right  and 
left  of  the  road,  and  the  Royal  party  must  remain  together. 
Pickets  must  be  posted  at  stated  intervals.  The  King  approved 
when  I  told  him  that  this  had  been  done  also  in  18 14.  The 
Sovereigns  did  not  drive  on  that  occasion,  but  went  on  horse- 
back, and  Russian  soldiers,  twenty  paces  apart,  lined  the  whole 
route."  Somebody  suggested  the  possibility  that  peasants  or 
franctireurs  might  fire  at  the  King.  "  Certainly,"  added  the 
Chief,  "  and  what  makes  it  so  important  a  point  is  that  the  per- 
sonage in  question,  if  he  is  ill  or  wounded  or  otherwise  out  of 
sorts,  has  only  to  say  '  Go  back! '  and  we  must  all  of  us  go  back." 

We  left  Commercy  next  day  at  noon,  passing  several  mili- 
tary detachments  and  a  number  of  encampments  on  our  way. 
The  measures  of  precaution  mentioned  by  the  Chief  had  been 
adopted.  We  were  preceded  by  a  squadron  of  uhlans  and 
escorted  by  the  Stabsiuache,  which  formed  a  bright  picture  of 
many  colours,  being  recruited  from  the  various  cavalry  regi- 
ments, such  as  green,  red,  and  blue  hussars,  Saxon  and  Prussian 
dragoons,  &c.  The  carriages  of  the  Chancellor's  party  followed 
close  behind  those  of  the  King's.  P'or  a  long  time  we  did  not 
come  across  any  villages.  Then  we  passed  through  St.  Aubin, 
and  soon  after  came  to  a  milestone  by  the  roadside  with  the 
words  "  Paris  241  kilometres,"  so  that  we  were  only  a  distance 
of  some  thirty-two  German  miles  from  Babel.  We  afterwards 
passed  a  long  line  of  transport  carts  belonging  to  the  regiments 
of  King  John  of  Saxony,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  &c.,  which 
showed  that  we  were  now  in  the  district  occupied  by  the  Crown 
Prince's  army. 

Shortly   afterwards  we  entered  the  small  town   of   Ligny, 
which   was   thronged  with    Bavarian   and    other  soldiers.     Wc 

VOL.  I. G 


82  "TOO   MANY    PRINXES "  [Aug.  25 

waited  for  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  the  market-place, 
which  was  crowded  with  all  sorts  of  conveyances,  while  the 
Chief  paid  a  visit  to  the  Crown  Prince.  On  our  starting  once 
more  we  met  further  masses  of  blue  Bavarian  infantry,  some 
light  horse  collected  round  their  camp  fires,  then  a  second 
squadron  with  a  herd  of  cattle  guarded  by  soldiers,  and  finally 
a  third  larger  encampment  within  a  circle  of  baggage  waggons. 

Bar  le  Due,  the  largest  town  in  which  we  have  stayed  up  to 
the  present,  may  have  a  population  of  some  15,000.  The  streets 
and  squares  presented  a  lively  picture  as  we  drove  through,  and 
we  caught  glimpses  of  curious  female  faces  watching  us  through 
the  blinds.  On  the  arrival  of  the  King  the  Bavarian  band 
played  "  Heil  dir  im  Siegerkranz."  He  took  up  his  quarters  in 
the  house  occupied  by  the  local  branch  of  the  Bank  of  France, 
in  the  Rue  de  la  Banque.  The  Chancellor  and  his  party  lodged 
on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  in  the  house  of  a  M.  Pernay,  who 
had  gone  off  leaving  an  old  woman  in  charge. 

Dr.  Lauer,  the  Kmg's  physician,  dined  with  the  Minister 
that  evening.  The  Chief  was  very  communicative  as  usual,  and 
appeared  to  be  in  particularly  good  humour.  He  renewed  his 
complaints  as  to  the  "  short  commons"  at  the  royal  table,  evi- 
dently intending  the  doctor  to  repeat  them  to  Count  Puckler  or 
Perponcher.  During  his  visit  at  Ligny  he  had  to  take  break- 
fast, which  he  said  was  excellent,  with  the  Crown  Prince  and 
the  Princes  and  chief  officers  of  his  suite.  He  had  a  seat  near 
the  fire,  however,  which  was  not  quite  to  his  taste,  and  other- 
wise it  was  in  many  ways  less  comfortable  than  in  his  own 
quarters.  "  There  were  too  many  Princes  there  for  an  ordinary 
mortal  to  be  able  to  find  a  place.  Amongst  them  was  Frederick 
the  Gentle  (Friedrich  der  Sachte  —  Frederick  VHI.  of  Schles- 
wig-Holstein).  He  wore  a  Bavarian  uniform,  so  that  I  hardly 
knew  him  at  first.  He  looked  somewhat  embarrassed  when  he 
recognised  me."  We  also  gathered  from  what  the  Chief  said 
that  Count  Hatzfeld  was  to  act  as  a  kind  of  Prefect  while  we 
remained  here,  a  position  for  which  probably  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  I'rench  and  of  the  habits  of  the  country  had 
recommended  him.  We  also  heard  that  the  headquarters 
might  remain  here  for  several  days,  —  "  as  at  Capua,"  added 
the  Count,  laughing. 

Before  tea  some  articles  were  despatched  to  Germany,  in- 


1870]  AT   BAR   LE   DUG  83 

eluding  one  on  the  part  played  by  the  Saxons  at  Gravelotte, 
which  the  Chancellor  praised  repeatedly. 

By  way  of  change  I  will  here  again  quote  from  my  diary  :  — 
Thursday^  August  25///.  — Took  a  walk  early  this  morning 
in  the  upper,  and  evidently  the  older,  part  of  the  town.  The 
shops  are  almost  all  open.  The  people  answer  politely  when 
we  ask  to  be  shown  the  way.  Not  far  from  our  quarters  there 
is  an  old  stone  bridge  over  the  river  which  was  unquestionably 
built  before  Lorraine  and  the  Duchy  of  Bar  belonged  to  France. 
Towards  nine  o'clock  the  Bavarians  began  their  march  through 
the  town,  passing  in  front  of  the  King's  quarters.  More  French 
spectators  had  collected  on  both  sides  of  the  street  than  was 
quite  comfortable  for  us.  For  hours  together  light  horse  with 
green  uniforms  and  red  facings,  dark  blue  cuirassiers,  lancers, 
artillery  and  infantry,  regiment  after  regiment  marched  before 
the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  German  Forces.  As  they  passed 
the  King  the  troops  cheered  lustily,  the  cavalry  swinging  their 
sabres,  and  the  foot  soldiers  lifting  up  their  right  hands.  The 
colours  were  lowered  before  the  Sovereign,  the  cavalry  trumpets 
blew  an  ear-splitting  fanfare,  while  the  infantry  bands  played 
stirring  airs,  one  of  them  giving  the  beautiful  Hohenfriedberg 
march.  First  came  General  von  Hartmann's  Army  Corps, 
followed  by  that  of  Von  der  Tann,  who  afterwards  took  break- 
fast with  us.  Who  could  have  thought,  immediately  after  the 
war  of  1866,  or  even  three  months  ago,  of  the  possibility  of  such 
a  scene } 

Wrote  several  articles  for  post  and  others  for  the  wire.  Our 
people  are  pressing  forward  rapidly.  The  vanguards  of  the 
German  columns  are  already  between  Chalons  and  Epernay. 
The  formation  of  three  reserve  armies  in  Germany,  which  has 
been  already  mentioned,  began  a  few  days  ago.  The  neutral 
Powers  raise  some  objections  to  our  intended  annexation  of 
French  territory  for  the  purpose  of  securing  an  advantageous 
western  frontier,  especially  England,  who  up  to  the  present  has 
shown  a  disposition  to  tie  our  hands.  The  reports  from  St. 
Petersburg  appear  to  be  more  favourable,  the  Tsar  being  well 
disposed  to  us,  although  he  by  no  means  unreservedly  accepts 
the  proposed  measures,  while  we  are  assured  of  the  active  sym- 
pathy of  the  Grand  Duchess  Helene.  We  hold  fast  to  our  in- 
tention to  enforce  the  cession  of  territory,  that  intention  being 


84  THE  AUGUSTEXBURGER  [Aug.  26 

based  upon  the  necessity  of  at  length  securing  South  Germany 
from  French  attack  and  thus  rendering  it  independent  of  French 
policy.  When  our  intentions  are  made  public  they  will  certainly 
be  energetically  endorsed  by  the  national  sentiment,  which  it 
will  be  difficult  to  oppose. 

It  is  reported  that  a  variety  of  revolting  acts  have  been  com- 
mitted by  the  bands  of  franctireurs  that  are  now  being  formed. 
Their  uniform  is  such  that  they  can  hardly  be  recognised  as 
soldiers,  and  the  badges  by  which  they  are  distinguished  can  be 
easily  laid  aside.  One  of  these  young  fellows  lies  in  a  ditch 
near  a  wood,  apparently  sunning  himself,  while  a  troop  of 
cavalry  rides  by.  When  they  have  passed  he  takes  a  rifle  which 
has  been  concealed  in  a  bush,  fires  at  them  and  runs  into  the 
wood.  Knowing  the  way  he  again  appears  a  little  further  on 
as  a  harmless  peasant.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  these  are 
not  defenders  of  their  country  but  rather  assassins  who  should 
be  strung  up  without  ceremony  whenever  they  are  caught. 

Count  Seckendorf,  of  the  Crown  Prince's  staff,  was  the 
Chief's  guest  at  dinner.  The  Augustenburger( Frederick  VIII. 
of  Schleswig-Holstein),  who  has  joined  the  Bavarians,  was 
spoken  of,  and  not  to  his  advantage.  .  .  .  (The  opinions  ex- 
pressed were  practically  identical  with  those  given  in  a  letter 
which  I  received  a  few  months  later  from  a  patriotic  friend, 
Herr  Noeldeke,  who  lived  in  Kiel  at  that  time  as  a  professor. 
He  wrote  :  "  We  all  know  that  he  was  not  born  for  heroic  deeds. 
He  cannot  help  that.  If  he  waits  persistently  for  his  inheritance 
to  be  restored  to  him  by  some  miraculous  means,  that  is  a  family 
trait.  But  he  might  at  least  have  made  an  effort  to  appear 
heroic.  Instead  of  loafing  around  with  the  army  he  might  have 
led  a  company  or  a  battalion  of  the  soldiers  whom  at  one  time 
he  was  nearly  calling  his  own,  —  or  for  my  part  he  might  have 
led  Bavarians.  In  all  probability  the  result  would  not  have  been 
very  remarkable,  but  at  any  rate  he  would  have  shown  his 
good  will.") 

Reference  was  made  to  the  rumour  that  the  Bavarian  bat- 
talions did  not  appear  particularly  anxious  to  advance  at  the 
battle  of  Worth  (or  was  it  Weissenburg  .•*),  and  that  Major  von 
Freiberg  called  upon  them  to  show  themselves  equal  to  "those 
gallant  Prussians."  Seckendorf,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  confirmed 
this    report.     On   the   other   hand,    he  denied   that   the   Crown 


1870]  GERMAN  OFFICIALS   IN    FRANCE  85 

Prince  had  ordered  treacherous  French  peasants  to  be  shot. 
He  had,  on  the  contrary,  acted  with  great  leniency  and  forbear- 
ance, especially  towards  unmannerly  French  officers. 

Count  Bohlen,  who  is  always  ready  with  amusing  anecdotes 
and  flashes  of  fun,  said  :  "  On  the  i8th  von  Breintz's  battery  was 
subjected  to  such  a  heavy  fire  that  in  a  short  time  nearly  all  his 
horses  and  most  of  his  men  lay  dead  or  wounded.  As  he  was 
mustering  the  survivors,  the  Captain  remarked,  '  A  very  fine 
fight,  is  it  not .''  *  " 

The  Chief  said  :  "  Last  night  I  asked  the  sentry  at  the  door 
how  he  was  off  for  food,  and  I  found  that  the  man  had  had 
nothing  to  eat  for  twenty-four  hours.  I  went  to  the  kitchen 
and  brought  him  a  good  chunk  of  bread,  at  which  he  seemed 
highly  pleased." 

Hatzfeld's  appointment  as  Prefect  led  to  the  mention  of  other 
Prefects  and  Commissaries  in  spe.  Doubt  having  been  expressed 
as  to  the  capacity  of  some  of  them,  the  Minister  remarked :  "  Our 
officials  in  France  may  commit  a  few  blunders,  but  they  will 
be  soon  forgotten  if  the  administration  in  general  is  conducted 
energetically." 

The  conversation  having  turned  on  the  telegraph  lines  which 
were  being  so  rapidly  erected  in  our  rear,  somebody  told  the 
following  story.  The  workmen,  who  found  that  their  poles  were 
stolen  and  their  wires  cut,  asked  the  peasants  to  keep  guard  over 
them  during  the  night.  The  latter,  however,  refused  to  do  this, 
although  they  were  offered  payment  for  it.  At  length  they  were 
promised  that  the  name  of  each  watchman  should  be  painted 
upon  every  pole.  This  speculation  on  French  vanity  succeeded. 
After  that  the  fellows  in  the  long  nightcaps  kept  faithful  watch, 
and  no  further  damage  was  done. 

Friday,  August  26th. — We  are  to  move  forward  to  Saint 
Menehould,  where  our  troops  have  captured  800  mobile  guards. 
Early  in  the  day  I  wrote  an  article  about  the  franctireurs,  deal- 
ing in  detail  with  the  false  view  which  they  take  of  what  is  per- 
missible in  war. 

We  moved  forward  on  the  26th,  not  to  Saint  Menehould, 
however,  which  was  still  unsafe,  being  infested  by  franctireurs 
and  mobile  guards,  but  to  Clermont  en  Argonne,  where  we 
arrived  at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening.  On  our  way  we  passed 
through  several  rather  large  villages  with  handsome  old  churches. 


86  FRENCH    METHODS   OF   WAR  [Aug.  26 

For  the  last  couple  of  hours  military  policemen  were  stationed 
along  the  road  at  intervals  of  about  200  paces.  The  houses, 
which  were  built  of  grey  sandstone  and  not  whitewashed,  stood 
close  together.  The  whole  population  shuffled  about  in  clumsy 
wooden  shoes,  and  the  features  of  the  men  and  women,  of  whom 
we  saw  great  numbers  standing  before  the  doors,  were,  so  far  as 
I  could  observe  in  a  passing  glance,  almost  invariably  ugly. 
Probably  the  people  thought  it  necessary  to  remove  the  prettier 
girls  to  a  place  of  safety  out  of  the  way  of  the  German  birds 
of  prey. 

We  met  some  Bavarian  troops  with  a  line  of  transport 
waggons.  The  troops  loudly  cheered  the  King,  and  afterwards 
the  Chancellor.  Later  on  we  overtook  three  regiments  of 
infantry,  some  hussars,  uhlans,  and  a  Saxon  commissariat 
detachment.  Near  a  village,  which  was  called  Triaucourt  if  I 
am  not  mistaken,  we  met  a  cartful  of  franctireurs  who  had 
been  captured  by  our  people.  Most  of  these  young  fellows 
hung  their  heads,  and  one  of  them  was  weeping.  The  Chief 
stopped  and  spoke  to  them.  What  he  said  did  not  appear  to 
please  them  particularly.  An  officer  of  higher  rank  who  came 
over  to  the  carriage  of  the  Councillors  and  was  treated  to  a 
friendly  glass  of  cognac  told  us  that  these  fellows  or  comrades 
of  theirs  had  on  the  previous  day  treacherously  shot  a  captain 
or  major  of  the  uhlans,  named  Von  Fries  or  Friesen.  On 
being  taken  prisoners  they  had  not  behav'ed  themselves  like 
soldiers,  but  had  run  away  from  their  escort.  The  cavalry  and 
rifles,  however,  arranged  a  kind  of  battue  in  the  vineyards,  so 
that  some  of  them  were  again  seized,  while  others  were  shot 
or  cut  down,  It  was  evident  that  the  war  was  becoming  bar- 
barous and  inhuman,  owing  to  these  guerilla  bands.  Our 
soldiers  were  prejudiced  against  them  from  the  beginning,  even 
apart  from  the  possibility  of  their  lying  treacherously  in 
ambush,  as  they  looked  upon  them  as  busybodies  who  were 
interfering  in  what  was  not  their  business,  and  as  bunglers  who 
did  not  understand  their  work. 

We  took  uj)  our  residence  at  Clermont  in  the  town  school- 
house  in  the  main  street,  the  King's  quarters  being  over  the 
way.  On  our  arrival,  the  Grande  Rue  was  full  of  carts  and 
carriages,  and  one  saw  here  and  there  a  few  Saxon  rifles. 
While  Abeken  and  I  were  visiting  the  church,  we  could  hear  in 


1870J  BISMARCK    AM)    lliK    i-RANCriREURS  8/ 

the  stillness  the  steady  tramp  of  the  troops  and  their  hurrahs 
as  they  marehed  past  the  Kin.'^'s  quarters. 

On  our  return  we  were  tokl  that  the  Minister  had  left  word 
that  we  were  to  dine  with  him  in  the  Hotel  des  Voyagcurs. 
We  found  a  place  at  the  Chief's  table  in  a  back  room  of  the 
hotel,  which  was  full  of  noise  and  tobacco  smoke.  Amongst 
the  guests  w^as  an  officer  with  a  long  black  beard,  who  wore 
the  Geneva  cross  on  his  arm.  This  was  Prince  Pless.  He 
said  that  the  captured  French  ofificers  at  Pont  a  Mousson  had 
behaved  in  an  insolent  manner,  and  had  spent  the  whole  night 
drinking  and  playing  cards.  A  general  had  insisted  that  he 
was  entitled  to  have  a  separate  carriage,  and  been  very  ob- 
streperous when  his  demand  was  naturally  rejected.  We  then 
went  on  to  speak  of  the  franctireurs  and  their  odious  modes  of 
warfare.  The  Minister  confirmed  what  I  had  already  heard 
from  Abeken,  namely,  that  he  had  spoken  very  sharply  to  the 
prisoners  we  had  met  in  the  afternoon,  "  I  told  them  '  Fous 
seres  I'ous  poidus,  —  vous  netes  fas  des  soldats,  vous  etes  des 
assassins !'  On  my  saying  this  one  of  them  began  to  how4." 
We  have  already  seen  that  the  Chancellor  is  anything  but 
unfeeling,  and  further  proof  of  this  will  be  given  later  on. 

In  our  quarters  the  Chief's  chamber  was  on  the  first  floor, 
Abeken,  I  believe,  having  a  back  room  on  the  same  landing. 
The  remainder  of  us  were  lodged  on  the  second  floor  in  a  dormi- 
tory or  kind  of  hall  which  at  first  only  contained  two  chairs  and 
two  bedsteads  with  mattresses  but  without  quilts.  The  night 
was  bitterly  cold,  and  I  only  with  my  waterproof  to  cover  me. 
Still  it  was  quite  endurable,  especially  when  one  fell  asleep 
thinking  of  the  poor  soldiers  who  have  to  lie  outside  in  the 
muddy  fields. 

In  the  morning  we  were  busy  rearranging  our  apartment  to 
suit  our  needs.  Without  depriving  it  of  its  original  character 
we  turned  it  into  an  office  and  dining  room.  Theiss's  clever- 
ness conjured  up  a  magnificent  table  out  of  a  sawing  bench  and 
a  baker's  trough,  a  barrel,  a  small  box,  and  a  door  which  we 
took  off  its  hinges.  This  work  of  art  served  as  breakfast  and 
dining  table  for  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  and  our- 
selves, and  in  the  intervals  between  those  meals  was  used  as  a 
desk  by  the  Councillors  and  Secretaries,  who  neatly  committed 
to  paper  and  reproduced  in  the  form  of  despatches,  instructions, 


88  FRICTION    AT   IIEAD(^L  AKTERS  [Aug.  27 

telegrams,  and  newspaper  articles  the  pregnant  ideas  which  the 
Count  thought  out  in  our  midst.  The  scarcity  of  chairs  was  to 
a  certain  extent  overcome  by  requisitioning  a  bench  from  the 
kitchen,  while  some  of  the  party  contented  themselves  with 
boxes  as  seats.  Wine  bottles  that  had  been  emptied  by  the 
Minister  served  as  candlesticks,  — experience  proved  that  cham- 
pagne bottles  were  the  fittest  for  this  purpose,  —  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact  good  wax  candles  burned  as  brightly  in  these 
as  in  a  silver  chandelier.  It  was  more  difficult  to  secure  the 
necessary  supply  of  water  for  washing,  and  sometimes  it  was 
hard  even  to  get  enough  for  drinking  purposes,  the  soldiers 
having  during  the  last  two  days  almost  drained  the  wells  for 
themselves  and  their  horses.  Only  one  of  our  party  lamented 
his  lot  and  grumbled  at  these  and  other  slight  discomforts. 
The  rest  of  us,  including  the  far-travelled  Abeken,  accepted 
I  hem  all  with  good  humour,  as  welcome  and  characteristic 
features  of  our  expedition. 

The  office  of  the  Minister  of  War,  or  rather  of  the  General 
Staff,  was  on  the  ground  floor,  where  Fouriere  and  a  number  of 
soldiers  sat  at  the  desks  and  rostrums  in  the  two  schoolrooms. 
The  walls  were  covered  with  maps,  &c.,  and  with  mottoes,  one 
of  which  was  particularly  applicable  to  the  present  bad  times : 
Faites  vans  une  ^tiidc  de  la  patience,  et  sacJiez  c^der  par  raison. 

The  Chief  came  in  while  we  were  taking  our  coffee.  He 
was  in  a  bad  temper,  and  asked  why  the  proclamation  threaten- 
ing to  punish  with  death  a  number  of  offences  by  the  population 
against  the  laws  of  war  had  not  been  posted  up.  On  his  in- 
structions I  inquired  of  Stieber,  who  told  me  that  Abeken  had 
handed  over  the  proclamation  to  the  General  Staff,  and  that  he 
(Stieber),  as  director  of  the  military  police,  could  only  put  up 
such  notices  when  they  came  from  his  Majesty. 

On  going  to  the  Chancellor's  room  to  inform  him  of  the  re- 
sult of  my  inquiries,  I  found  that  he  was  little  better  off  than 
myself  in  the  way  of  sleeping  accommodation.  He  had  passed 
the  night  on  a  mattress  on  the  floor  with  his  revolver  by  his 
side,  and  he  was  working  at  a  little  table  which  was  hardly 
large  enough  to  rest  his  two  elbows  on.  The  apartment  was 
almost  bare  of  furniture  and  there  was  not  a  sofa  or  armchair, 
&c.  He  who  for  years  past  had  so  largely  influenced  the 
histfiry  of  the  world,   and  in   whose  mind  all  the  great   move- 


i87oJ  WORKING    UNDER   DIFFICULTIES  89 

nients  of  our  time  were  concentrated  and  being  shaped  anew, 
had  hardly  a  place  on  which  to  lay  his  head,  while  stupid  Court 
parasites  rested  from  their  busy  idleness  in  luxurious  beds,  and 
even  Monsieur  Stieber  managed  to  provide  for  himself  a  more 
comfortable  resting-place  than  our  Master. 

On  this  occasion  I  saw  a  letter  that  had  fallen  into  our 
hands.  It  came  from  Paris  and  was  addressed  to  a  French 
officer  of  high  rank.  From  this  communication  it  appeared 
that  little  hope  was  entertained  of  further  successful  resistance, 
and  just  as  little  of  the  maintenance  of  the  dynasty.  The 
writer  did  not  know  what  to  expect  or  desire  for  the  immediate 
future.  The  choice  seemed  to  lie  between  a  Republic  without 
republicans,  and  a  Monarchy  without  monarchists.  The  re- 
publicans were  a  feeble  set  and  the  monarchists  were  too 
selfish.  There  was  great  enthusiasm  about  the  army,  but 
nobody  was  in  a  hurry  to  join  it  and  assist  in  repelling  the 
enemy. 

The  Chief  again  said  that  attention  should  be  called  to  the 
services  of  the  Saxons  at  Gravelotte.  "  The  small  black  fellows 
should  in  particular  be  praised.  Their  own  newspapers  have 
expressed  themselves  very  modestly,  and  yet  the  Saxons  were 
exceptionally  gallant.  Try  to  get  some  details  of  the  excellent 
work  they  did  on  the  i8th." 

They  were  very  busy  in  the  office  in  the  meantime.  Coun- 
cillors and  Secretaries  were  writing  and  deciphering  at  full 
pressure,  sealing  despatches  at  the  lights  stuck  into  the  cham- 
pagne-bottle candlesticks,  and  all  around  portfolios  and  docu- 
ments, waterproofs  and  shoe-brushes,  torn  papers  and  empty 
envelopes,  were  strewn  about  in  picturesque  confusion.  Order- 
lies, couriers,  and  attendants  came  and  went.  Every  one  was 
talking  at  the  same  time  and  was  too  occupied  to  pay  the  least 
attention  to  his  neighbours.  Abeken  was  particularly  active  in 
rushing  about  between  the  improvised  table  and  the  messengers, 
and  his  voice, was  louder  than  ever.  I  believe  that  this  morn- 
ing his  ready  hand  turned  out  a  fresh  document  every  half 
hour,  at  least ;  one  heard  him  constantly  pushing  back  his  chair 
and  calling  a  messenger.  In  addition  to  all  this  noise  came  the 
incessant  tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of  the  soldiers,  the  rolling  of  the 
drums,  and  the  rattle  of  the  carts  over  the  pavement.  In  this 
confusion  it  was  no  lie^ht  task  to  collect  one's  thoughts  and  to 


90  QUARTERING  TROOPS   IX    A  CHURCH  [Aug.  28 

carry  out  properly  the  instructions  received,  but  with  plenty  of 
good  will  it  could  be  done. 

After  dinner,  at  which  the  Chancellor  and  some  of  the 
Councillors  were  not  present,  as  they  dined  with  the  King,  I 
took  a  walk  with  VVillisch  to  the  chapel  of  St.  Anne  on  the  top 
of  the  hill.  There  we  found  a  number  of  our  countrymen, 
soldiers  belonging  to  the  Freiberg  Rifle  Battalion,  at  supper 
under  a  tree.  They  have  been  engaged  in  the  battle  of  the 
1 8th.  I  tried  to  obtain  some  particulars  of  the  fight,  but  could 
not  get  much  more  out  of  them  than  that  they  had  given  it 
with  a  will  to  the  Frenchmen. 

By  the  side  of  the  chapel  a  pathway  led  between  a  row  of 
trees  to  a  delightful  prospect  whence  we  could  see  at  our  feet 
the  little  town,  and  beyond  it  to  the  north  and  east  an  extensive 
plain,  with  stubble  fields,  villages,  steeples,  groups  of  trees,  and 
stretches  of  wood,  and  to  the  south  and  west  a  forest  that 
spread  (  .t  to  the  horizon  changing  from  dark  green  to  the 
misty  blue  of  the  far  distance.  This  plain  is  intersected  by 
three  roads,  one  of  which  goes  direct  to  Varennes.  On  this 
road  not  far  from  the  town  a  Bavarian  regiment  was  stationed, 
whose  camp  fires  added  a  picturesque  note  to  the  scene.  In 
the  distance  to  the  right  was  a  wooded  hill  with  the  village  of 
Faucoix,  while  the  small  town  of  Montfaucon  was  visible  further 
off.  The  second  road,  more  towards  the  east,  leads  to  Verdun. 
Still  further  to  the  right,  not  far  from  a  camp  of  Saxon  troops, 
was  the  road  to  Bar  le  Due,  on  which  we  noticed  a  detachment 
of  soldiers.  We  caught  the  glint  of  their  bayonets  in  the 
evening  sunshine  and  heard  the  sound  of  their  drums  softened 
by  the  distance. 

Here  we  remained  a  good  while  gazing  at  this  pleasing  pic- 
ture, which  in  the  west  was  glowing  with  the  light  of  the  set- 
ting sun,  and  watching  the  shadows  of  the  mountain  si)read 
slowly  over  the  fields  until  all  was  dark.  On  our  way  back  we 
again  looked  in  at  the  church  of  St.  Didier,  in  which  sonic  Hes- 
sians were  now  quartered.  They  lay  on  straw  in  the  choir  and 
before  the  altar,  and  lit  their  pipes  at  the  lamps  which  burned 
before  the  sanctuary  —  without,  however,  intending  any  disre- 
spect, as  they  were  decent,  harmless  fellows. 

On  Sunday,  August  28th,  we  were  greeted  with  a  dull  grey 
sky  and  a  soft  steady  rain   that  reminded  one  of  the  weather 


i87o]  SOUTH   GERMANY   MUST   BE   MADE   SECURE  9 1 

experienced  by  Goethe  not  far  from  here  in  September,  1792, 
during  the  days  preceding  and  following  the  artillery  engage- 
ment at  Valmy.  At  the  Chief's  request  I  took  General  Sheri- 
dan a  copy  of  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  and  afterwards  tried  to 
hunt  up  some  Saxons  who  could  give  me  particulars  of  the  bat- 
tle of  the  1 8th.  At  length  I  found  an  officer  of  the  Landwchr, 
a  landed  proprietor  named  Fuchs-Nordhof,  from  Moeckern, 
near  Leipzig.  He  was  not  able  to  add  much  to  what  I  knew. 
The  Saxons  had  fought  principally  at  Sainte  Marie  aux  Chenes 
and  Saint  Privat,  and  protected  the  retreat  of  the  guards,  who 
had  fallen  into  some  disorder.  The  Freiberg  Rifles  took  the 
position  held  by  the  French  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  with- 
out firing  a  shot.  The  Leipzig  Regiment  (107th)  in  particular 
had  lost  a  great  many  men  and  nearly  all  its  officers.  That 
was  all  he  could  tell  me,  except  that  he  confirmed  the  news  as 
to  Krausshaar's  death. 

When  the  Minister  got  up  we  were  again  provided  with 
plenty  of  work.  Our  cause  was  making  excellent  progress. 
I  was  in  a  position  to  telegraph  that  the  Saxon  cavalry  had 
routed  the  12th  Chasseurs  at  Voussieres  and  Beaumont.  I  was 
informed  (and  was  at  liberty  to  state)  that  we  held  to  our  deter- 
mination to  compel  France  to  a  cession  of  territory,  and  that 
we  should  conclude  peace  on  no  other  conditions. 

The  arguments  in  support  of  this  decision  were  given  in 
the  following  article,  which  was  sanctioned  by  the  Chief :  — 

"  Since  the  victories  of  Mars  la  Tour  and  Gravelotte  the 
German  forces  have  been  constantly  pressing  forward.  The 
time  would,  therefore,  appear  to  have  come  for  considering 
the  conditions  on  which  Germany  can  conclude  peace  with 
France.  In  this  matter  we  must  be  guided  neither  by  a  pas- 
sion for  glory  or  conquest,  nor  by  that  generosity  which  is  fre- 
quently recommended  to  us  by  the  foreign  press.  Our  sole 
object  must  be  to  guarantee  the  security  of  South  Germany 
from  fresh  attacks  on  the  part  of  France  such  as  have  been 
renewed  more  than  a  dozen  times  from  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIV.  to  our  own  days,  and  which  will  be  repeated  as  often  as 
France  feels  strong  enough.  The  enormous  sacrifices  in  blood 
and  treasure  which  the  German  people  have  made  in  this  war, 
together  with  all  our  present  victories,  would  be  in  vain  if  the 
power  of  the  French  were  not  weakened  for  attack   and  the 


92  FRENCH   TERRITORY  TO   BE  CEDED  [Aug.  28 

defensive  strength  of  Germany  were  not  increased.  Our  people 
have  a  right  to  demand  that  this  shall  be  done.  Were  we  to 
content  ourselves  with  a  change  of  dynasty  and  an  indemnity, 
the  position  of  affairs  would  not  be  improved,  and  there  would 
be  nothing  to  prevent  this  war  leading  to  a  number  of  others, 
especially  as  the  present  defeat  would  spur  on  the  French  to 
revenge.  France  with  her  comparatively  great  wealth  would 
soon  forget  the  indemnity,  and  any  new  dynasty  would,  in 
order  to  fortify  its  own  position,  endeavour  to  secure  a  victory 
over  us  and  thus  compensate  for  the  present  misfortunes  of  the 
country.  Generosity  is  a  highly  respectable  virtue,  but  as  a 
rule  in  politics  it  secures  no  gratitude.  In  1866  we  did  not 
take  a  single  inch  of  ground  from  the  Austrians,  but  have  we 
received  any  thanks  in  Vienna  for  this  self-restraint .-'  Do  they 
not  feel  a  bitter  longing  for  revenge  simply  because  they  have 
been  defeated  ?  Besides,  the  French  already  bore  us  a  grudge 
for  our  victory  at  Sadowa,  though  it  was  not  won  over  them 
but  over  another  foreign  Power.  Whether  we  now  generously 
forego  a  cession  of  territory  or  not,  how  will  they  feel  towards 
us  after  the  victories  of  Worth  and  Metz,  and  how  will  they 
seek  revenge  for  their  own  defeat } 

"The  consequences  of  the  other  course  adopted  in  18 14  and 
181 5,  when  France  was  treated  with  great  consideration,  prove 
it  to  have  been  bad  policy.  If  at  that  time  the  French  had 
been  weakened  to  the  extent  which  the  interests  of  general 
peace  required,  the  present  war  would  not  have  been  necessary. 

"The  danger  does  not  lie  in  Bonapartism,  although  the  latter 
must  rely  chiefly  upon  chauvinist  sentiment.  It  consists  in  the 
incurable  arrogance  of  that  portion  of  the  French  peoi)le  which 
gives  the  tone  to  the  whole  country.  This  trait  in  the  French 
national  character,  which  will  guide  the  policy  of  every  dynasty, 
whatever  name  it  may  bear,  and  even  of  a  Republic,  will  con- 
stantly lead  to  encroachments  upon  peaceful  neighbours.  Our 
victories,  to  bear  fruit,  must  lead  to  an  actual  improvement  of 
our  frontier  defences  against  this  restless  neighbour.  Whoever 
wishes  to  see  the  diminution  of  military  burdens  in  luirope, 
or  desires  such  a  peace  as  would  permit  thereof,  must  look  not 
to  moral  but  to  material  guarantees  as  a  solid  and  permanent 
barrier  against  the  F'rcnch  lust  of  conquest ;  in  other  words,  it 
should  in  future  In;  made  as  difficult  as  possible  for  F"rancc  to 


1870J  METZ   AND   STRASBURG   FOR   GKRNLVNY  93 

invade  South  Germany  with  a  comparatively  small  force,  and 
even  in  peace  to  compel  the  South  Germans,  through  the  appre- 
hension of  such  attack,  to  be  always  reckoning  with  the  French 
Government.  Our  present  task  is  to  secure  South  Germany  by 
providing  it  with  a  defensible  frontier.  To  fulfil  that  task  is  to 
liberate  Germany,  that  is  to  complete  the  work  of  the  War  of 
Liberation  in  1813  and  1814. 

"  The  least,  therefore,  that  we  can  demand  and  that  the 
German  people,  and  particularly  our  comrades  across  the  Main, 
can  accept  is  the  cession  of  the  French  gateways  into  Germany, 
namely  Strasburg  and  Metz.  It  would  be  just  as  short-sighted 
to  expect  any  permanent  peace  from  the  mere  demolition  of 
these  fortresses  as  to  trust  in  the  possibility  of  winning  over 
the  French  by  considerate  treatment.  Besides,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  this  territory  which  we  now  demand  was  origi- 
nally German  and  in  great  part  still  remains  German,  and  that 
its  inhabitants  will  perhaps  in  time  learn  to  feel  that  they  belong 
to  one  race  with  ourselves. 

"We  may  regard  a  change  of  dynasty  with  indifference. 
An  indemnity  will  only  temporarily  weaken  France  financially. 
What  we  require  is  increased  security  for  our  frontiers.  This  is 
only  attainable,  however,  by  changing  the  two  fortresses  that 
threaten  us  into  bulwarks  for  our  protection.  Strasburg  and 
Metz  must  cease  to  be  points  of  support  for  French  attacks  and 
be  transformed  into  German  defences. 

"  Whoever  sincerely  desires  a  general  European  peace  and 
disarmament,  and  wants  to  see  the  ploughshare  replace  the 
sword,  must  first  wish  to  see  the  eastern  neighbors  of  France 
secure  peace  for  themselves,  as  France  is  the  sole  disturber  of 
public  tranquillity  and  will  so  remain  as  long  as  she  has  the 
power." 


CHAPTER  V 

WE  TURN  TOWARDS  THE  NORTH  —  THE  CHANCELLOR  OF  THE 
CONFEDERATION  AT  REZONVILLE — THE  BATTLE  AND  BATTLE- 
FIELD OF  BEAUMONT 

Sunday,  Angnst  28/A. —  At  tea  we  receive  an  important  piece 
of  news.  We  ourselves  and  the  whole  army  (with  the  exception 
of  that  portion  which  remains  behind  for  the  investment  of 
Metz)  are  to  alter  our  line  of  march,  and  instead  of  going  west- 
wards in  the  direction  of  Chdlons,  we  are  to  turn  northwards, 
following  the  edge  of  the  Argonne  forest  towards  the  Ardennes 
and  the  Meuse  district.  Our  next  halt  will,  it  is  believed,  be  at 
Grand  Pr6.  This  move  is  made  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting 
Marshal  MacMahon,  who  has  collected  a  large  force  and  is 
marching  towards  Metz  for  the  relief  of  Bazaine. 

We  start  at  10  o'clock  on  the  29th,  passing  through  several 
villages  and  occasionally  by  handsome  chateaux  and  parks,  a 
camp  of  Bavarian  soldiers,  some  line  regiments,  rifles,  light 
horse,  and  cuirassiers.  In  driving  through  the  small  town  of 
Varennes  we  notice  the  house  where  Louis  XVI.  was  arrested 
by  the  postman  of  Saint  Menehould.  It  is  now  occupied  by  a 
firm  of  scythe  manufacturers.  The  whole  place  is  full  of  sol- 
diers, horse  and  foot,  with  waggons  and  artillery.  After  extri- 
cating ourselves  from  this  crowd  of  vehicles  and  men,  we  push 
rapidly  forward  through  villages  and  past  other  camps,  until  we 
reach  Grand  Pre.  Here  the  Chancellor  takes  up  his  quarters  in 
the  Grande  Rue,  a  little  way  from  the  Market,  the  King  lod<^ing 
at  an  apothecary's  not  far  off.  The  second  section  of  the  King's 
suite,  including  Prince  Charles,  Prince  Luitpold  of  liavaria,  and 
the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  of  Mccklcnburg-Schwerin,  was 
quartered  in  the  neighbouring  village  of  Juvin.  I  am  billeted  at 
a  milliner's  opposite  the  Chief's  quarters.  I  have  a  nice  clean 
room,  but  my  landlady  is  invisible.     We  saw  a  number  of  French 

94 


Aug.  29,  1S70)  IIIK   CIIANCKI.LOR   AT   VARENNES  95 

prisoners  in  the  market-place  on  our  arrival.  I  am  informed 
that  an  encounter  with  MacMahon's  army  is  expected  to-morrow 
morning. 

At  Grande  Pre  the  Chief  again  showed  that  he  never 
thought  of  the  possibility  of  an  attempt  being  made  to  assas- 
sinate him.  He  walked  about  in  the  twilight  alone  and  without 
any  constraint,  going  even  through  narrow  and  lonely  streets 
that  offered  special  opportunities  for  attack.  I  say  this  from 
personal  experience,  because  I  followed  him  with  my  revolver 
at  a  little  distance.  It  seemed  to  me  possible  that  an  occasion 
might  arise  when  I  might  be  of  assistance  to  him. 

On  my  hearing  next  morning  that  the  King  and  the  Chan- 
cellor were  going  off  together  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  great 
battue  of  the  second  French  army,  I  thought  of  a  favourite 
proverb  of  the  Chief's  which  he  repeated  to  me  on  his  return 
from  Rezonville  :  — "  Wer  sich  griin  macht,  den  fressen  die 
Zieg-en,''  and  plucking  up  heart  I  begged  him  to  take  me  with 
him.  He  answered,  "But  if  we  remain  there  for  the  night 
what  will  you  do?"  I  replied,  "That  doesn't  matter.  Excel- 
lency; I  shall  know  how  to  take  care  of  myself."  "Well, 
then,  come  along !  "  said  he,  laughing.  The  Minister  took  a 
walk  in  the  market-place  while  I,  in  high  good  humour,  fetched 
my  travelling  bag,  waterproof,  and  faithful  diary.  On  his  re- 
turn he  entered  his  carriage  and  motioned  to  me  to  join  him, 
when  I  took  my  place  at  his  side.  One  must  have  luck  to 
secure  such  a  piece  of  good  fortune,  and  one  must  also  follow 
it  up. 

We  started  shortly  after  9  o'clock.  At  first  we  retraced  our 
steps  along  yesterday's  road.  Then  to  the  left  through  vine- 
yards and  past  several  villages  in  a  hilly  district.  We  met 
some  parks  of  artillery  and  troops  on  the  march  or  resting  by 
the  way.  About  1 1  o'clock  we  reached  the  little  town  of 
Busancy,  where  we  stopped  in  the  market-place  to  wait  for 
the  King. 

The  Chief  was  very  communicative.  He  complained  that 
he  was  so  frequently  disturbed  at  his  work  by  persons  talking 
outside  his  door,  "particularly  as  some  of  the  gentlemen  have 
such  loud  voices.  An  ordinary  inarticulate  noise  does  not 
annoy  me.  I  am  not  put  out  by  music  or  the  rattle  of  wag- 
gons, but  what  irritates  me  is  a   conversation  in  which   I  can 


96  COUNT   WILLIAM    BISMARCK  [Aug.  29 

distinguish  the  words.  I  then  want  to  know  what  it  is  about, 
and  so  I  lose  the  thread  of  my  own  ideas." 

He  then  pointed  out  to  me  that  when  officers  sakitcd  our 
carriage,  it  was  not  for  me  to  return  the  sakite.  He  himself 
was  not  saluted  as  Minister  or  Chancellor,  but  solely  as  a 
general  officer,  and  soldiers  might  feel  offended  if  a  civilian 
seemed  to  think  that  the  salute  was  also  intended  for  him. 

He  was  afraid  that  nothing  in  particular  would  occur  that 
day,  an  opinion  which  was  shared  by  some  Prussian  artillery 
officers  who  were  standing  by  their  guns  immediately  opposite 
Busancy,  and  with  whom  he  spoke.  "  It  will  be  just  as  it  was  oc- 
casionally when  I  was  out  wolf  shooting  in  the  Ardennes.  After 
wandering  about  for  days  in  the  snow,  we  used  to  hear  that  a 
track  had  been  discovered,  but  when  we  followed  it  up  the  wolf 
had  disappeared.     It  will  be  the  same  with  the  French  to-day." 

After  expressing  a  hope  that  he  might  meet  his  second  son, 
respecting  whom  he  repeatedly  inquired  of  officers  along  the 
route,  the  Minister  added:  —  "You  can  see  from  his  case  how 
little  nepotism  there  is  in  our  army.  He  has  already  served 
twelve  months  and  has  obtained  no  promotion,  while  others  are 
recommended  for  the  rank  of  ensign  in  little  more  than  a 
month."  I  took  the  liberty  to  ask  how  that  was  possible.  "  I 
do  not  know,"  he  answered.  "  I  have  made  close  inquiries  as  to 
whether  he  had  been  guilty  of  any  slight  breaches  of  discipline; 
but  no,  his  conduct  had  been  quite  satisfactory,  and  in  the  en- 
gagement at  Mars  la  Tour  he  charged  as  gallantly  on  the 
French  square  as  any  of  his  comrades.  On  the  return  ride  he 
dragged  with  him  out  of  the  fight  two  dragoons  who  had  been 
unhorsed,  grasping  one  of  them  in  each  hand.'  It  is  certainly 
well  to  avoid  favouritism,  but  it  is  bitter  to  be  slighted." 

A  few  weeks  later  both  his  sons  were  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  officers. 

Subsequently,  amongst  many  other  things,  the  Chief  once 
more  gave  me  an  account  of  his  experiences  on  the  evening  of 
the  1 8th  of  August.  They  had  sent  their  horses  to  water,  and 
were  standing  near  a  battery  which  had  opened  fire.  This  was 
not  returned  by  the  French,  but  he  continued  :  "  WHiile  we 
thought  their  cannon   had  been  dismounted,  they  were  for  the 

'  Xiit  quite  correct,  according  tu  a  suhsequent  statement  "f  tin:  Minister's  aii'l 
( 'ount  I'liU'j  own  account. 


1S70J  AN    ANXIOUS    MOMKNT  97 

last  hour  cnncentratinj;  their  f^uns  and  mitrailleuses  for  a  last 
great  effort.  Suddenly  they  began  a  fearful  fire  with  shells  and 
smaller  projectiles,  filling  the  whole  air  with  an  incessant  crash- 
ing and  roaring,  howling  and  whistling.  We  were  cut  off  from 
the  King,  whom  Roon  had  sent  to  the  rear.  I  remained  by  the 
battery,  and  thought  that  if  we  had  to  retire  I  could  jump  on  to 
the  next  ammunition  cart.  We  expected  that  this  attack  would 
be  supported  by  French  infantry,  who  might  take  me  prisoner, 
even  if  I  were  to  treat  them  to  a  steady  revolver  fire.  I  had 
six  bullets  ready  for  them,  and  another  half-dozen  in  reserve. 
At  length  our  horses  returned,  and  I  started  off  to  join  the 
King.  That,  however,  was  jumping  from  the  frying  pan  into 
the  fire.  The  shells  that  passed  over  our  heads  fell  exactly  in  the 
sjDace  across  which  we  had  to  ride.  Next  morning  we  saw 
the  pits  which  they  dug  in  the  ground.  It  was  therefore  neces- 
sary for  the  King  to  retire  still  further  to  the  rear.  I  told  him 
this  after  the  officers  had  mentioned  it  to  me.  It  was  now  night. 
The  King  said  he  was  hungry,  and  wished  to  have  something 
to  eat.  Drink  was  to  be  had  from  one  of  the  sutlers,  wine  and 
bad  rum,  but  there  was  nothing  to  eat  except  dry  bread.  At 
last  they  managed  to  hunt  up  a  couple  of  cutlets  in  the  vil- 
lage, just  enough  for  the  King,  but  nothing  for  his  compan- 
ions, so  that  I  was  obliged  to  look  out  for  something  else.  His 
Majesty  wished  to  sleep  in  the  carriage  betv/een  dead  horses 
and  severely  wounded  soldiers.  Later  on  he  found  shelter  in 
a  miserable  hut.  The  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  was 
obliged  to  seek  cover  elsewhere.  Leaving  the  heir  of  one  of 
our  mighty  German  potentates  (the  young  Hereditary  Grand 
Duke  of  Mecklenburg)  to  keep  watch  over  the  carriage  and  see 
that  nothing  was  stolen,  I  went  with  Sheridan  on  a  recon- 
noitring tour  in  search  of  a  sleeping  place.  We  came  to  a 
house  which  was  still  burning,  but  that  was  too  hot  for  us.  I 
inquired  at  another,  it  was  full  of  wounded ;  at  a  third,  and  got 
the  same  answer,  and  still  a  fourth  was  also  full  of  wounded. 
Here,  however,  I  refused  to  budge.  I  saw  a  top  window  in 
which  there  was  no  light,  and  asked  who  was  there.  '  Only 
wounded  soldiers,'  was  the  reply.  'Well,  we  are  just  going  up 
to  see,'  I  said,  and  marched  up  stairs.  There  we  found  three 
beds  with  good  and  tolerably  clean  straw  mattresses,  where  we 
took  up  our  quarters  and  slept  capitally." 

VOL.  I.  —  H 


98  AT   BUSANCY  [An;.  30 

When  the  Minister  first  told  this  story  at  Pont  a  Moussoii, 
with  less  detail,  his  cousin,  Count  Bismarck-Bohlen,  added : 
"  Yes,  you  fell  asleep  immediately,  as  also  did  Sheridan,  who 
rolled  himself  up  in  a  white  linen  sheet  —  where  he  found  it  I 
cannot  imagine  —  and  seemed  to  dream  of  you  all  night,  as  I 
heard  him  murmur  to  himself  several  times,  '  O  dear  Count ! '  " 
"  Yes,"  said  the  Minister,  "and  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke, 
who  took  the  affair  in  very  good  part,  and  was  altogether  a  very 
pleasant  and  amiable  young  gentleman."  "  Moreover,"  con- 
tinued Bohlen,  "  the  best  of  it  was  that  there  really  was  no  such 
scarcity  of  shelter.  In  the  meantime  a  fine  country  house  had 
been  discovered  that  had  been  prepared  for  the  reception  of 
Bazaine,  with  good  beds,  excellent  wine,  and  I  know  not  what 
besides,  all  first  rate.  The  Minister  of  War  quartered  himself 
there,  and  had  a  lu.xurious  supper  with  his  staff." 

On  the  way  to  Busancy  the  Chancellor  further  said  :  "  The 
whole  day  I  had  nothing  to  eat  but  army  bread  and  bacon  fat. 
In  the  evening  we  got  five  or  six  eggs.  The  others  wanted 
them  cooked,  but  I  like  them  raw,  and  so  I  stole  a  couple,  and 
cracking  the  shells  on  the  hilt  of  my  sword,  I  swallowed  them, 
and  felt  much  refreshed.  Early  next  morning  I  had  the  first 
warm  food  for  thirty-six  hours.  It  was  only  some  pea  soup 
with  bacon,  which  I  got  from  General  Goeben,  but  I  enjoyed  it 
immensely." 

The  market-place  at  Busancy,  a  small  country  town,  w-as 
crowded  with  officers,  hussars,  uhlans,  couriers,  and  all  sorts  of 
conveyances.  After  a  while  Sheridan  and  Forsythe  also  ar- 
rived. At  11.30  the  King  appeared,  and  immediately  after- 
wards we  heard  the  unexpected  news  that  the  French  were 
standing  their  ground.  At  about  four  kilometres  from  Busancy 
we  came  to  a  height  beneath  which  to  the  left  and  right  a  small 
open  valley  lay  between  us  and  another  height.  Suddenly  we 
heard  the  mufiled  sound  of  a  discharge  in  the  distance.  "  Ar- 
tillery fire,"  said  the  Minister.  A  little  further  on  I  saw  two 
Cf)lumns  of  infantry  stationed  on  the  other  side  of  a  hollow  to 
the  left  on  a  piece  of  rising  ground  bare  of  trees.  They  had 
two  guns  which  were  being  fired.  It  was  so  far  off,  however, 
that  one  could  hardly  hear  the  report.  The  Chief  was  sur- 
prised at  the  sharjjness  of  my  sight  and  i)ut  on  his  glasses, 
which  1  tor  the  first  time  learned  were   necessary  to  him  wlien 


1S70J  THE    HATILH  OF   BKAUMONl'  99 

he  wished  to  see  at  a  distance.  Small  white  clouds  like  bal- 
loons at  a  great  height  floated  for  three  or  four  seconds  above 
the  hollow  and  then  disappeared  in  a  flash.  These  were  shrap- 
nel shells.  The  guns  must  have  been  German,  and  seemed  to 
throw  their  shot  from  a  declivity  on  the  other  side  of  the  hollow. 
Over  this  hollow  was  a  wood,  in  front  of  which  I  could  observe 
several  dark  lines,  perhaps  French  troops.  Still  further  off  was 
the  spur  of  a  hill,  with  three  or  four  large  trees.  This,  accord- 
ing to  my  map,  was  the  village  of  Stonn,  from  which,  as  I  after- 
wards heard,  the  Emperor  Napoleon  watched  the  fight. 

The  firing  to  the  left  soon  ceased.  Bavarian  artillery,  blue 
cuirassiers,  and  green  light  horse  passed  us  on  the  road,  going 
at  a  trot.  A  little  further  on,  just  as  we  drove  by  a  small 
thicket,  we  heard  a  rattle,  as  of  a  slow  and  badly  delivered 
volley.  "  A  mitrailleuse,"  said  Engel,  turning  round  on  the 
box.  Not  far  off,  at  a  place  w^here  the  Bavarian  rifles  were 
resting  in  the  ditch  by  the  road,  the  Minister  got  on  horseback 
in  order  to  ride  with  the  King,  who  was  ahead  of  us.  We  our- 
selves, after  following  the  road  for  a  time,  turned  towards  the 
right  across  a  stubble  field.  The  ground  gradually  rose  to  a 
low  height  on  which  the  King  stood  with  the  Chief  and  a  num- 
ber of  Princes,  generals,  and  other  officers  of  high  rank.  I 
followed  them  across  the  ploughed  fields,  and  standing  a  little 
to  one  side  I  watched  the  battle  of  Beaumont  till  nearly  sunset. 

It  began  to  grow  dark.  The  King  sat  on  a  chair  near 
which  a  straw  fire  had  been  lit,  as  there  was  a  strong  wind. 
He  was  following  the  course  of  the  battle  through  a  field-glass. 
The  Chancellor,  who  was  similarly  occupied,  stood  on  a  ridge, 
from  which  Sheridan  also  watched  the  spectacle.  It  was  now 
possible  to  catch  the  flash  of  the  bursting  shells  and  the  flames 
that  were  rising  from  the  burning  houses  at  Beaumont.  The 
French  continued  to  retire  rapidly,  and  the  combatants  dis- 
appeared over  the  crest  of  the  treeless  height  that  closed  the 
horizon  to  the  left  behind  the  wood  over  the  burning  village. 
The  battle  was  won. 

It  was  growing  dark  when  we  returned  towards  Busancy, 
and  when  we  reached  it  it  was  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  small 
fires  that  threw^  the  silhouettes  of  men,  horses,  and  baggage  wag- 
gons into  high  relief.  We  got  down  at  the  house  of  a  doctor 
who  lived  at  the  end  of  the  main  street,  in  which  the  King  had 


lOO  THE   FRENCH   TAKEN    BV   SURPRISE  [Aug.  31 

also  taken  up  his  quarters.  Those  of  our  party  who  had  been 
left  behind  at  Grand  Pre  had  arrived  before  us.  I  slept  here  on 
a  straw  mattress  on  the  floor  of  an  almost  empty  room,  under  a 
coverlet  which  had  been  brought  from  the  hospital  in  the  town 
by  one  of  our  soldiers.  That,  however,  did  not  in  the  least  pre- 
vent my  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  just. 

On  Wednesday,  August  the  31st,  between  9  and  10  a.m., 
the  King  and  the  Chancellor  drove  out  to  visit  the  battlefield  of 
the  previous  day.  I  was  again  permitted  to  accompany  the 
Minister.  At  first  we  followed  the  road  taken  the  day  before 
through  Bar  de  Busancy  and  Sommauthe.  Between  these  two 
villages  we  passed  some  squadrons  of  Bavarian  uhlans,  who 
heartily  cheered  the  King.  Behind  Sommauthe,  which  was  full 
of  wounded,  we  drove  through  a  beautiful  wood  that  lay  between 
that  village  and  Beaumont,  where  we  arrived  after  1 1  o'clock. 
King  William  and  our  Chancellor  then  got  on  horseback  and 
rode  to  the  right  over  the  fields.  I  followed  in  the  same  direc- 
tion on  foot.  The  carriages  went  on  to  the  town,  where  they 
were  to  wait  for  us. 

The  Chancellor  remarked  that  the  French  had  not  offered 
a  particularly  steady  resistance  yesterday,  or  shown  much  ]:)ru- 
dence  in  their  arrangements.  "  At  Beaumont  a  batter)-  of 
heavy  artillery  surprised  them  in  their  camp  in  broad  daylight. 
Horses  were  shot  tethered,  many  of  the  dead  are  in  their  shirt 
sleeves,  and  plates  are  still  lying  about  with  boiled  potatoes, 
pots  with  half-cooked  meat,  and  so  forth." 

During  the  drive  the  Chief  came  to  speak  of  "  people  who 
have  the  King's  ear  and  abuse  his  good  nature,"  thinking  in 
the  first  place  of  the  "  fat  Borck,  the  holder  of  the  King's  Privy 
Purse";  and  afterwards  referring  to  Count  Bernstorff,  our  then 
Ambassador  in  London,  who,  when  he  gave  up  the  P"orcign 
Office  in  Berlin,  "knew  very  well  how  to  take  care  of  himself." 
In  fact,  "he  was  so  long  weighing  the  respective  advantages 
of  the  two  Embassies — London  and  Paris  —  that  he  delayed 
entering  upon  his  duties  much  longer  than  was  decent  or 
proper." 

I  ventured  to  ask  what  sort  of  a  person  Von  der  Goltz  was, 
as  one  heard  such  different  opinions  about  him,  and  whether 
he  really  was  a  man  of  imj)ortance  and  intellect  as  was  main- 
tained.      "Intelligent?    yes,    in    a    certain    sense,"    replied    tlic 


1870J  vox    DKR   GOLTZ   AND   THE    IRKNCII   COURT  lOI 

Minister;  "a  quick  worker,  well  informed,  but  chani,^cable  in 
his  views  of  men  and  things,  to-day  in  favour  of  this  man  or 
this  project,  to-morrow  for  another  and  sometimes  for  the  very 
opposite.  Then  he  was  always  in  love  with  the  Princesses  to 
whose  Courts  he  was  accredited,  first  with  Amelia  of  Greece 
and  then  with  Eugenie.  He  believed  that  what  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  carry  through,  he,  with  his  exceptional  intelligence, 
could  have  also  done  and  even  better.  Therefore  he  was  con- 
stantly intriguing  against  me,  although  we  had  been  good 
friends  in  our  youth.  He  wrote  letters  to  the  King  complain- 
ing of  me  and  warning  his  Majesty  against  me.  That  did  not 
help  him  much,  as  the  King  handed  over  the  letters  to  me,  and 
I  replied  to  them  by  reprimanding  him.  But  in  this  respect  he 
was  persevering,  and  continued  to  write  indefatigably.  He 
was  very  little  liked  by  his  subordinates,  indeed  they  actually 
detested  him.  On  my  visit  to  Paris  in  1862  I  called  upon  him 
to  report  myself  just  as  he  had  settled  down  to  a  siesta.  I  did 
not  wish  to  have  him  disturbed,  but  his  secretaries  were  evi- 
dently delighted  that  he  should  be  obliged  to  get  up,  and  one 
of  them  immediately  went  in  to  announce  me.  It  would  have 
been  so  easy  for  him  to  secure  the  good  will  and  attachment  of 
his  people.  It  is  not  difficult  for  an  Ambassador,  and  I  too 
would  do  it  gladly.  But  as  a  Minister  one  has  no  time,  one  has 
too  many  other  things  to  think  of  and  to  do.  So  I  have  had  to 
adopt  a  more  military  style."  It  will  be  seen  from  this  descrip- 
tion that  Von  der  Goltz  was  Arnim's  forerunner  and  kindred 
spirit. 

The  Minister  went  on  to  speak  of  Radowitz,  saying  he  did 
not  feel  quite  certain  whether  it  was  dulness  or  treachery  on 
Radowitz's  part  that  was  to  blame  for  the  diplomatic  defeat  at 
Olmlitz.  The  army  ought  to  have  been  brought  into  line  before 
Olmiitz,  but  Radowitz  had  intrigued  against  it.  "  I  would  leave 
it  an  open  question  whether  he  did  so  as  an  Austrian  ultra- 
montane Jesuit,  or  as  an  impracticable  dreamer  who  thought 
he  knew  everything.  Instead  of  looking  to  our  armaments  he 
occupied  the  King  with  constitutional  trifles,  of  mediaeval  fol- 
lies, questions  of  etiquette,  and  such  like.  On  one  occasion  we 
heard  that  Austria  had  collected  80,000  men  in  Bohemia,  and 
was  buying  great  numbers  of  horses.  This  was  mentioned  be- 
fore the  King  in   Radowitz's  presence.      He  suddenly  stepped 


I02  A   BELLIGERENT   PRIEST  [Aug.  31 

forward,  looking  as  if  he  knew  much  more  about  it  than  any- 
body else,  and  said,  '  Austria  has  22,493  men  and  2,005  horses 
in  Bohemia,'  and  then  turned  away,  conscious  that  he  had  once 
more  impressed  the  King  with  a  sense  of  his  importance." 

The  King  and  the  Chancellor  first  rode  to  the  field  where 
the  heavy  artillery  had  been  at  work.  I  followed  them  after  I 
had  jotted  down  my  notes.  This  field  lies  about  800  to  1000 
paces  to  the  right  of  the  road  that  brought  us  here.  In  front 
of  it  towards  the  wood  at  the  bottom  of  the  valley  were  some 
fields  surrounded  by  hedges  in  which  lay  about  a  thousand 
German  dead,  Thuringians  of  the  31st  Regiment.  The  camp 
itself  presented  a  horrible  appearance,  all  blue  and  red  from 
the  French  dead,  most  of  them  being  killed  by  the  shells  of  the 
4th  Corps,  and  fearfully  disfigured. 

The  Chancellor,  as  he  afterwards  told  mc,  noticed  among 
some  prisoners  in  a  quarry  a  priest  who  was  believed  to  have 
fired  at  our  men.  "  On  my  charging  him  with  having  done  so 
he  denied  it.  'Take  care,'  I  said  to  him,  '  for  if  it  is  proved 
against  you,  you  will  certainly  be  hanged.'  In  the  meantime  I 
gave  instructions  to  remove  his  cassock."  Near  the  church  the 
King  saw  a  wounded  musketeer,  with  whom  he  shook  hands, 
although  the  man  was  rather  tattered  and  dirty  from  the  work 
of  the  previous  day,  doubtless  to  the  surprise  of  the  French 
officers  who  were  present.  The  King  asked  him  what  his  busi- 
ness was.  He  replied  that  he  was  a  Doctor  of  Philosophy. 
"Well,  then,  you  will  have  learnt  to  bear  your  wounds  in  a 
philosophical  spirit,"  said  the  King.  "  Yes,"  answered  the 
musketeer,  "  I  have  already  made  up  my  mind  to  do  so." 

Near  the  second  village  we  overtook  some  common  soldici's, 
Bavarians,  who  had  broken  down  on  the  march,  and  were  drag- 
ging themselves  slowly  along  in  the  burning  sun.  "  IIullo, 
countryman  !  "  called  out  the  Minister  to  one  of  these,  "  will 
you  have  some  brandy  .'  "  "  Why,  certainly  ;  "  and  so  would  a 
second  and  a  third,  to  judge  from  their  looks.  All  three,  and 
a  few  more,  after  they  had  had  a  pull  at  the  Minister's  flask  and 
at  mine,  received  a  decent  cigar  in  addition.  At  the  village  of 
Crehangcs,  where  the  princely  j^ersonages  of  the  .second  section 
of  the  King's  suite  were  quartered,  together  with  some  gentle- 
men of  the  Crown  Prince's  retinue,  the  King  ordered  a  lunch, 
to  which  Bismarck  was  also  invited.      In  the  meantime  I  sat  on 


1870]  THURINGIAN   SERENE   HIGHNESS  IO3 

a  Stone  by  the  roadside  and  wrote  up  my  diary,  and  afterwards 
assisted  the  Dutch  ambulance  corps,  who  had  erected  a  bri^^ht 
green  tent  for  the  wounded  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village.  When 
the  Minister  returned  he  asked  me  what  I  had  been  doing,  which 
I  told  him.  "  I  would  rather  have  been  there  than  in  the  com- 
pany I  was  in,"  he  said,  breathing  deeply,  and  then  quoted  the 
line  from  Schiller's  Diver,  "  Unter  Larven  die  einzige  filJilende 
Bnist"  (the  only  feeling  heart  amongst  all  those  masks). 

During  the  rest  of  the  drive  the  conversation  moved  for 
a  considerable  time  in  exalted  regions,  and  the  Chief  readily 
gave  me  full  information  in  answer  to  my  inquiries.  I  re- 
gret, however,  that  I  cannot  for  various  reasons  publish  all  I 
heard. 

A  certain  Thuringian  Serene  Highness  appeared  to  be  par- 
ticularly objectionable  to  him.  He  spoke  of  his  "  stupid  self- 
importance  as  a  Prince,  regarding  me  as  his  Chancellor  also  "  ; 
of  his  empty  head,  and  his  trivial  conventional  style  of  talk. 
"  To  some  extent,  however,  that  is  due  to  his  education,  which 
trained  him  to  the  use  of  such  empty  phrases.  Goethe  is  also 
partly  to  blame  for  that.  The  Queen  has  been  brought  up 
much  in  the  same  style.  One  of  the  chairs  in  the  Palace  would 
be  taken  to  represent  the  Burgomaster  of  Apolda,  who  was 
coming  to  present  his  homage.  '  Ah  ! '  she  was  taught  to  say, 
*  very  pleased  to  see  you,  Herr  Burgomaster ! '  (Here  the  Chan- 
cellor leant  his  head  a  little  to  one  side,  pouted  his  lips,  and 
assumed  a  most  condescending  smile.)  '  How  are  things  going 
on  in  the  good  town  of  Apolda }  In  Apolda  you  make  socks 
and  tobacco  and  such  things,  which  do  not  require  much  think- 
ing or  feeling.'  " 

I  ventured  to  ask  how  he  now  stood  with  the  Crown  Prince. 
"  Excellently,"  he  answered.  "  We  are  quite  good  friends 
since  he  has  come  to  recognise  that  I  am  not  on  the  side  of  the 
French,  as  he  had  previously  fancied  —  I  do  not  know  on  what 
grounds."  I  remarked  that  the  day  before  the  Crown  Prince 
had  looked  very  pleased.  "  Why  should  he  not  be  pleased  .'*  " 
replied  the  Count.  "  The  Heir  Apparent  of  one  of  the  most 
powerful  kingdoms  in  the  world,  and  with  the  best  prospects. 
He  will  be  reasonable  later  on  and  allow  his  Ministers  to  govern 
more,  and  not  put  himself  too  much  forward,  and  in  general  he 
will  get  rid  of  many  bad  habits  that  render  old  gentlemen  of 


I04  THE  AUGUSTENBURGER  [Auu  31 

his  trade  sometimes  rather  troublesome.  For  the  rest,  he  is 
unaffected  and  straijj^htforward ;  but  he  does  not  care  to  work 
much,  and  is  quite  happy  if  he  has  plenty  of  money  and  amuse- 
ments, and  if  the  newspapers  praise  him." 

I  took  the  liberty  to  ask  further  what  sort  of  woman  the 
Crown  Princess  was,  and  whether  she  had  much  influence  over 
her  husband.  "  I  think  not,"  the  Count  said;  "and  as  to  her 
intelligence,  she  is  a  clever  woman ;  clever  in  a  womanly  way. 
She  is  not  able  to  disguise  her  feelings,  or  at  least  not  always. 
I  have  cost  her  many  tears,  and  she  could  not  conceal  how 
angry  she  was  with  me  after  the  annexations  (that  is  to  say  of 
Schlesvvig  and  Hanover).  She  could  hardly  bear  the  sight  of 
me,  but  that  feeling  has  now  somewhat  subsided.  She  once 
asked  me  to  bring  her  a  glass  of  water,  and  as  I  handed  it  to 
her  she  said  to  a  lady-in-waiting  who  sat  near  and  whose  name 
I  forget,  '  He  has  cost  me  as  many  tears  as  there  is  water  in 
this  glass.'     But  that  is  all  over  now." 

Finally  we  descended  from  the  sphere  of  the  gods  to  that 
of  ordinary  humanity.  After  I  had  referred  to  the  Coburg- 
Belgian-English  clique,  the  conversation  turned  on  the  Augus- 
tenburger  in  his  Bavarian  uniform.  "He's  an  idiot,"  said  the 
Chancellor.  "He  might  have  secured  much  better  terms.  At 
first  I  did  not  want  from  him  more  than  the  smaller  Princes 
were  obliged  to  concede  in  1866.  Thanks,  however,  to  Divine 
Providence  and  the  pettifogging  wisdom  of  Samwer,  he  would 
agree  to  nothing.  I  remember  an  interview  I  had  with  him  in 
1864,  in  the  billiard-room  near  my  study,  which  lasted  until 
late  in  the  night.  I  called  him  'Highness'  for  the  first  time, 
and  was  altogether  specially  polite.  When,  however,  I  men- 
tioned Kiel  Harbour,  which  we  wanted,  he  remarked  that  that 
might  mean  something  like  a  square  mile,  or  perhaps  even 
several  square  miles,  a  remark  to  which  I  was  of  course  obliged 
to  assent;  and  when  he  also  refused  to  listen  to  our  demands 
with  regard  to  the  army,  I  assumed  a  different  tone,  and  ad- 
dressed him  merely  as  '  Prince.'  P^inally,  I  told  him  quite 
coolly  in  Low  German  that  we  could  wring  the  necks  of  the 
chickens  we  had  hatched.  At  Ligny  he  basely  tricked  me  the 
other  day  into  shaking  hands  with  him.  I  did  not  know  who 
the  Bavarian  general  was  who  held  out  his  hand  to  me,  or  I 
should  have  gone  out  of  his  way." 


1870J  TIIK   CHANCKLLOR   AT   VKNDRESSE  105 

After  an  unusually  hmy;  drive  up  hill  and  down  dale,  we 
arrived  at  7  o'clock  at  the  small  town  or  market-place  of  Ven- 
dresse,  where  the  Chancellor  put  up  at  the  house  of  a  Widow 
Baudelot,  with  the  rest  of  his  party,  who  had  already  taken 
possession  of  their  quarters. 


CHAPTER   VI 

SEDAN BISMARCK    AND    NAPOLEON    AT    DONCHERY 

On  the  ist  of  September  Moltke's  chase  after  the  French 
in  the  Meuse  district  was,  from  all  we  could  hear,  evidently  ap- 
proaching its  close.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present  at 
it  next  day.  After  rising  very  early  in  order  to  write  up  my 
diary  from  the  hasty  notes  taken  on  the  previous  day  in  the 
carriage  and  by  the  roadside  at  Chemery,  I  went  to  the  house 
of  Widow  Baudelot.  As  I  entered,  a  large  cavalry  detachment, 
formed  of  five  Prussian  hussar  regiments,  green,  brown,  black, 
and  red,  rode  past  under  the  Chief's  window.  These  were  to 
accompany  the  King  to  a  point  near  Sedan,  whence  he  could 
witness  the  catastrophe  which  was  now  confidently  expected. 
When  the  carriage  came  and  the  Chancellor  appeared,  he  looked 
about  him.  Seeing  me  he  said,  "Can  you  decipher,  doctor  .-^  " 
I  answered,  "  Yes,"  and  he  added,  '  Then  get  a  cipher  and  come 
along."  I  did  not  wait  to  be  asked  twice.  We  started  soon 
afterwards,  Count  Bismarck-Bohlcn  this  time  occupying  the  seat 
next  to  the  Minister. 

We  first  passed  through  Chemery  and  Chehcry,  halting  in 
a  stubble  field  near  a  third  village  which  lay  in  a  hollow  to  the 
left  of  the  road  at  foot  of  a  bare  hillock.  Here  the  King,  with 
his  suite  of  Princes,  generals,  and  courtiers,  got  on  horseback, 
as  did  also  the  Chief,  and  the  whole  party  moved  towards  the 
crest  of  the  height.  The  distant  roar  of  the  cannon  announced 
that  the  battle  was  in  full  progress.  It  was  a  bright  sunny  day, 
with  a  cloudless  sky. 

Leaving  Engcl  in  charge  of  the  carriage,  I  after  a  while  fol- 
lowed the  horsemen,  whom  I  found  in  a  ploughed  field  from 
which  one  had  an  extensive  view  of  the  district.  Beneath  was 
a  deep  wide  valley,  mostly  green,  with  patches  of  wood  on  the 
heights  that  surrounded  it.  The  blue  stream  of  the  Mouse 
flowed  past  a  town  of  moderate  size,  the  fortress  of  Sedan.      On 

1 06 


Si;ii.  I,  1S70]  SEDAN  IO7 

the  crest  of  the  hill  next  us,  at  about  the  distance  of  a  rifle  shot, 
is  a  wood,  and  there  are  also  some  trees  to  the  left.  To  the  right 
in  the  foreground,  which  sloped  obliquely,  in  a  series  of  steps  as 
it  were,  towards  the  bottom  of  the  valley,  was  stationed  a  Bava- 
rian battery,  which  kept  up  a  sharp  fire  at  and  over  the  town. 
I^ehind  the  battery  were  dark  columns  of  infantry  and  cavalry. 
Still  farther  to  the  right,  from  a  hollow,  rose  a  thick  column  of 
smoke.  It  comes,  we  are  told,  from  the  burning  village  of 
Bazcilles.  We  are  only  about  an  English  mile  in  a  bee-line 
from  Sedan,  and  in  the  clear  atmosphere  one  can  easily  distin- 
guish the  houses  and  churches.  In  the  distance,  to  the  left  and 
right,  three  or  four  villages,  and  beyond  them  all,  towards  the 
horizon,  a  range  of  hills  covered  throughout  with  what  appears 
to  be  a  pine  forest  serves  as  a  frame  for  the  whole  picture.  It 
is  the  Ardennes,  on  the  Belgian  frontier. 

The  main  positions  of  the  French  appear  to  be  on  the  hil- 
locks immediately  beyond  the  fortress,  and  it  looks  as  if  our 
troops  intended  to  surround  them  there.  For  the  moment  we 
can  only  see  their  advance  on  the  right,  as  the  lines  of  our 
artillery,  with  the  exception  of  the  Bavarians,  who  are  posted 
under  us,  are  lost  behind  the  heights  as  they  slowly  move  for- 
ward. Gradually  the  smoke  of  the  guns  is  seen  beyond  the 
rising  ground  already  mentioned,  with  the  defile  in  the  middle. 
The  corps  that  are  advancing  in  half  circle  to  enclose  the  enemy 
are  steadily  endeavouring  to  complete  the  circle.  To  the  left 
all  is  still.  At  1 1  o'clock  a  dark  grey  pillar  of  smoke  with  yel- 
low edges  rises  from  the  fortress,  which  has  hardly  taken  any 
part  in  the  firing.  The  French  troops  beyond  Sedan  deliver 
an  energetic  fire,  and  at  the  same  time,  over  the  wood  in  the 
defile,  rise  numbers  of  small  white  clouds  from  the  shells  — 
whether  French  or  German  we  cannot  say.  Sometimes,  also, 
we  hear  the  rattle  of  the  mitrailleuse. 

There  was  a  brilliant  assembly  upon  the  hill.  The  King, 
Bismarck,  Moltke,  Roon,  a  number  of  Princes,  Prince  Charles, 
their  Highnesses  of  Weimar  and  Coburg,  the  Hereditary  Grand 
Duke  of  Mecklenburg,  generals,  aides-de-camp,  court  ofificials. 
Count  Hatzfeld,  who  disappeared  after  a  while,  Kutusow,  the 
Russian,  and  Colonel  Walker,  the  English  Military  Plenipoten- 
tiary, together  with  General  Sheridan  and  his  aide-de-camp,  all 
in  uniform,  and  all   looking  through  field-glasses.     The  King 


I08  DECiniERIXG   IN   THE   IIELU  [Seit.  i 

Stood.  >vhile  others  sat  on  a  ridge  at  the  edge  of  the  field,  as 
did  the  Chancellor  also  at  times.  I  hear  that  the  King  sent 
word  round  that  it  was  better  not  to  gather  into  large  groups, 
as  the  French  in  the  fortress  might  in  that  case  fire  at  us. 

After  1 1  o'clock  our  line  of  attack  advanced  further  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Meuse  towards  the  main  position  of  the 
French,  who  were  thus  more  closely  invested.  In  my  eager- 
ness I  began  to  express  my  views  to  Count  Piickler,  probably 
somewhat  louder  than  was  necessary  or  quite  fitting  in  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  so  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Chief,  who 
had  sharp  ears.  He  turned  round  and  beckoned  to  me  to  come 
to  him.  "  If  you  have  strategic  ideas  to  communicate  to  the 
Count  it  would  be  well  if  you  managed  to  do  so  somewhat 
more  quietly,  doctor,  as  otherwise  the  King  might  ask  who  is 
speaking,  and  I  should  be  obliged  to  present  you  to  him." 
Shortly  afterwards  he  received  telegrams,  six  of  which  he  gave 
me  to  decipher,  so  that  for  the  time  I  had  to  resign  my  part  as 
a  spectator. 

On  returning  to  the  carriage  I  found  in  Count  Hatzfeld  a 
companion  who  had  also  been  obliged  to  combine  business 
with  pleasure.  The  Chief  had  instructed  him  to  copy  out  a 
French  letter  of  four  pages  which  had  been  intercepted  by  our 
troops.  I  mounted  the  box  and  set  to  work  deciphering,  while 
the  battle  roared  like  half-a-dozen  thunderstorms  on  the  other 
side  of  the  height.  In  my  eagerness  to  get  done  I  did  not  feel 
the  scorching  midday  sun,  which  raised  blisters  on  one  of  my 
ears. 

It  was  now  i  o'clock.  By  this  time  our  line  of  fire  encircled 
the  greater  part  of  the  enemy's  position  on  the  heights  beyond 
the  town.  Clouds  of  smoke  rose  in  a  wide  arch,  while  the  well- 
known  small  puff-balls  of  the  shrapnels  appeared  for  an  instant 
and  burst  in  the  air.  Only  to  the  left  there  yet  remained  a 
space  where  all  was  still.  The  Chancellor  now  sat  on  a  chair, 
studying  a  document  of  several  images.  I  asked  if  he  would 
like  to  have  something  to  eat  or  drink,  as  we  had  come  i)ro- 
vided.  He  declined,  however,  saying,  "  I  should  be  very  glad, 
but  the  King  has  also  had  nothing." 

The  opj:)Osing  forces  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  must  be 
very  near  each  other,  as  we  hear  r)ftciier  than  before  the  hate- 
ful rattle  of  the  mitrailleuse.      Its  bark,  however,  we  are  told,  is 


1870J  IJAZKILLES    IN   FLAMES  IO9 

worse  than  its  bite.  Between  2  and  3  o'clock,  according  to  my 
watch,  the  King  passed  near  where  I  stood.  After  looking  for 
a  while  through  his  glass  towards  the  suburbs  of  Sedan,  he  said 
to  those  who  accompanied  him,  "There,  to  the  left,  they  are 
pushing  forward  large  masses  of  troops  ;  I  think  it  is  a  sortie." 
It  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  an  advance  of  some  columns  of 
infantry,  which,  however,  soon  retired,  probably  because  they 
found  that  although  this  place  was  quiet  it  was  by  no  means 
open.  Shortly  afterwards,  wdth  the  assistance  of  the  field-glass, 
one  could  see  the  French  cavalry  deliver  several  attacks  on  the 
crest  of  the  hill  to  the  left  of  the  wood  near  the  defile,  which 
were  repelled  by  volleys  from  our  side.  After  these  charges  it 
could  be  seen,  even  with  the  naked  eye,  that  the  ground  was 
covered  with  white  objects,  horses  or  soldiers'  cloaks.  Soon 
afterwards  the  artillery  fire  grew  weaker  at  all  points,  and  there 
was  a  general  retreat  of  the  French  towards  the  town  and  its 
immediate  vicinity.  As  already  mentioned,  they  had  for  some 
time  past  been  closed  in  on  the  left,  where  the  Wiirtemberg 
troops  had  a  couple  of  batteries  not  far  from  our  hill,  and 
where,  as  we  were  informed,  the  5th  and  nth  Army  Corps  had 
cut  off  all  escape,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  gap  towards 
the  Belgian  frontier.  After  half-past  4  all  their  guns  were 
silent,  and  somewhat  later  ours  also  ceased  firing. 

Once  again  the  scene  becomes  more  animated.  Suddenly 
bluish  white  clouds  rise  first  in  one  and  then  in  a  second  part  of 
the  town,  showing  that  it  is  burning  in  two  places.  Bazeilles 
also  is  still  in  flames,  and  is  sending  up  a  pillar  of  dense  grey 
yellow  vapour  into  the  clear  evening  air.  The  soft  radiance  of 
the  declining  sun  is  spreading  more  and  more  over  the  valley  at 
our  feet,  like  burnished  gold.  The  hillocks  of  the  battlefield, 
the  ravine  in  the  midst,  the  villages,  the  houses,  the  towers  of 
the  fortress,  the  suburb  of  Torcy,  and  the  broken  bridge  in  the 
distance  to  the  left  stand  out  in  clear  relief,  from  moment  to 
moment  more  distinct  as  if  seen  through  stronger  and  stronger 
glasses. 

Towards  5  o'clock  General  Hindersin  speaks  to  the  King, 
and  I  fancy  I  catch  the  words,  "  Bombard  the  town,"  and  a 
"heap  of  ruins."  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  a  Bavarian  ofificer 
gallops  up  the  height  towards  us.  General  von  Bothmer  sends 
word  to  the  King  that  General  Mailinger,  who  is  stationed  at 


no  GENERAL   REILLE   SENT  TO   THE   KING  [Slfi.  i 

Torcy  with  the  chasseurs,  reports  that  the  French  desire  to 
capitulate,  and  that  their  unconditional  surrender  has  been  de- 
manded. The  King  replied,  "  No  one  can  negotiate  this  matter 
except  myself.  Tell  the  general  that  the  bearer  of  the  flag  of 
truce  must  come  to  me." 

The  Bavarian  rides  back  into  the  valley.  The  King  then 
speaks  to  Bismarck,  and  together  they  join  the  Crown  Prince 
(who  had  arrived  a  little  before),  Moltke,  and  Roon.  Their 
Highnesses  of  Weimar  and  Coburg  are  also  with  them,  stand- 
ing a  little  to  one  side.  After  a  while  a  Prussian  aide-de-camp 
appears,  and  reports  that  our  losses,  so  far  as  they  can  be 
ascertained  up  to  the  present,  are  not  great  —  those  of  the 
Guards  being  moderate,  of  the  Saxons  somewhat  more,  while 
the  remaining  corps  engaged  suffered  less.  Only  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  French  have  escaped  into  the  woods  in  the 
direction  of  the  Belgian  frontier,  where  search  is  now  being 
made  for  them.     All  the  rest  have  been  driven  towards  Sedan. 

"  And  the  Emperor.'  "  questioned  the  King. 

''We  do  not  know,"  answered  the  officer. 

Towards  6  o'clock,  however,  another  aide-de-camp  appeared 
and  reported  that  the  Emperor  was  in  the  town,  and  would  im- 
mediately send  out  a  parlementairc.  "  That  is  a  grand  suc- 
cess !  "  said  the  King,  turning  to  the  company.  "  I  thank  thee 
(he  added  to  the  Crown  Prince)  for  thy  share  in  it."  With 
these  words  he  gave  his  hand  to  his  son,  and  the  latter  kissed  it. 
He  then  held  out  his  hand  to  Moltke,  who  also  kissed  it.  Finally 
he  likewise  shook  hands  with  the  Chancellor,  and  spoke  to  him 
alone  for  some  time.  This  seemed  to  excite  the  displeasure  of 
some  of  their  Highnesses. 

Towards  half-past  6,  after  a  detachment  of  cuirassiers  had 
been  posted  near  the  King  as  a  guard  of  honour,  the  P^rcnch 
General  Reille,  Napoleon's  pari  on  cut  aire,  rode  slowly  up  the 
hill.  He  dismounted  at  a  distance  of  some  ten  paces  from  the 
King,  and  after  approaching  his  Majesty  took  off  his  cap  and 
handed  over  a  letter  of  large  size  with  a  red  seal.  The  general 
is  an  elderly  gentleman  of  medium  height  and  slender  figure,  in 
an  unbuttoned  black  tunic  with  ejxiulettes  and  shoulder  straps, 
black  vest,  red  trousers,  and  ])olished  riding  boots.  He  has  no 
sword,  but  carries  a  walking  stick  in  his  hand.  All  the  com- 
pany move  away  from  the  King,  who  opens  and  roads  tlic  letter, 


1S70I  AN    EARLY    VISllOR  HI 

afterwards  coniimmicatinf^  the  contents,  which  are  now  gener- 
ally known,  to  Bismarck,  Moltke,  the  Crown  Prince,  and  the 
other  personages.  Reille  stands  a  little  further  off,  at  first 
alone,  and  later  in  conversation  with  some  Prussian  generals. 
The  Crown  Prince,  Moltke,  and  his  Highness  of  Coburg  also 
speak  to  him  while  the  King  takes  counsel  with  the  Chancellor, 
who  then  commissions  Hatzfeld  to  prepare  a  draft  of  the  answer 
to  the  imperial  letter  Hatzfeld  brings  it  in  a  few  minutes  and 
the  King  copies  it,  sitting  on  one  chair,  while  the  seat  of  an- 
other, held  by  Major  von  Alten,  who  kneels  before  him,  serves 
as  a  desk. 

Shortly  before  7  o'clock  the  French  general  rides  back 
towards  Sedan  in  the  twilight,  accompanied  by  an  officer  and 
a  uhlan  trumpeter  carrying  a  white  flag.  The  town  is  now  in 
flames  in  three  places,  and  the  lurid  columns  of  smoke  that  rise 
from  Bazeilles  shows  it  to  be  still  burning.  The  tragedy  of 
Sedan  is  over,  and  night  lets  down  the  curtain. 

There  might  be  an  epilogue  on  the  following  day,  but  for 
the  present  every  one  returned  home.  The  King  went  back  to 
Vendrcsse,  the  Chief,  Count  Bismarck-Bohlen,  and  I  drove  to 
the  little  town  of  Donchery,  where  it  was  quite  dark  when  we 
arrived.  We  put  up  at  the  house  of  a  Dr.  Jeanjot.  The  town 
was  full  of  Wiirtemberg  soldiers,  who  were  camped  in  the  mar- 
ket-place. Our  reason  for  coming  here  was  that  an  arrange- 
ment had  been  made  according  to  which  the  Chancellor  and 
Moltke  were  this  evening  to  meet  the  French  plenipotentiary  to 
try  to  settle  the  conditions  of  the  capitulation  of  the  four  French 
army  corps  now  confined  in  Sedan. 

I  slept  here  in  an  alcove  near  the  back  room  on  the  first 
floor,  with  only  the  wall  between  me  and  the  Minister,  who  had 
the  large  front  room.  Towards  6  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  was 
awakened  by  hasty  footsteps,  and  heard  Engel  say :  "  Excel- 
lency, Excellency,  there  is  a  French  general  at  the  door.  I  can- 
not understand  what  he  wants."  The  Minister  would  appear  to 
have  got  up  hurriedly  and  spoken  a  few  words  to  the  French 
officer,  who  turned  out  to  be  General  Reille.  The  consequence 
was  that  he  dressed  immediately,  and  without  waiting  either  for 
breakfast  or  to  have  his  clothes  brushed,  mounted  his  horse  and 
rode  rapidly  off.  I  rushed  to  his  window  to  see  in  what  direc- 
tion  he    went.     I   sav\'  him  trot   off  towards  the  market-place. 


1 1 2  NAPOLEON  [Sept.  2 

In  the  room  ev^ery thing  was  lying  about  in  disorder.  On  the 
floor  lay  the  "  Tdglichc  Losnngen  ?ind  Lehrtexte  der  Bnider- 
gemeinde  fur  1870"  (Daily  Watchwords  and  Texts  of  the  Mora- 
vian Brethren  for  1870),  and  on  the  toilette  stand  was  another 
manual  of  devotion,  '^  Die  tdgliche  Erqiticknng  fiir  gldubige 
Christen'^  (Daily  Spiritual  Refreshment  for  Believing  Chris- 
tians), which  Engel  told  me  the  Chancellor  was  accustomed  to 
read  at  night. 

I  now  hastily  dressed  myself  also,  and  after  I  had  informed 
them  downstairs  that  the  Chief  had  gone  off  to  Sedan  to  meet 
the  Emperor  Napoleon,  who  had  left  the  fortress,  I  followed 
him  as  fast  as  I  could.  Some  800  paces  from  the  bridge  across 
the  Meuse  at  Donchery,  to  the  right  of  the  road,  planted  with 
poplars,  stands  a  single  house,  then  the  residence  of  a  Belgian 
weaver.  It  is  painted  yellow,  is  but  one  story  high,  and  has 
four  windows  on  the  front.  There  are  white  shutters  to  the 
windows  on  the  ground  floor ;  the  Venetian  blinds  on  those  of 
the  first  floor  are  also  painted  white,  and  it  has  a  slate  roof, 
like  most  of  the  houses  at  Donchery.  Near  it  to  the  left  is  a 
potato  field,  now  full  of  white  blossoms,  while  to  the  right,  across 
the  path  that  leads  to  the  house,  stand  some  bushes.  I  see  here 
that  the  Chancellor  has  already  met  the  Emperor.  In  front  of 
the  house  are  six  French  officers  of  high  rank,  of  whom  five 
have  caps  with  gold  trimmings,  while  that  worn  by  the  sixth 
is  black.  What  appears  to  be  a  hackney  coach  with  four  scats 
is  waiting  on  the  road.  Bismarck  and  his  cousin.  Count  Bohlen, 
are  standing  opposite  the  Frenchmen,  while  a  little  way  off  is 
Lcvcrstrom,  as  well  as  two  hussars,  one  brown  and  one  black. 
At  8  o'clock  Moltke  arrives  with  a  few  officers  of  the  general 
staff,  but  leaves  again  after  a  short  stay.  Soon  afterwards  a 
short,  thick-set  man,  in  a  red  cap  braided  with  gold  lace,  and 
wearing  red  trousers  and  a  hooded  cape  lined  with  red,  steps 
from  behind  the  house  and  speaks  at  first  to  the  French  officers, 
some  of  whom  are  sitting  under  the  hedge  by  the  potato  field. 
He  has  white  kid  gloves,  and  smokes  a  cigarette.  It  is  the 
ICmperor.  At  the  short  distance  at  which  I  stand  from  him 
I  can  clearly  distinguish  his  features.  There  is  something  soft 
and  dreamy  in  the  look  of  his  light  grey  eyes,  which  resemble 
those  of  people  who  have  lived  fast.  His  cap  is  set  a  little  to 
the  right,  in  which  direction  the  he;ul  is  also  i)jnt.      Th.-   short 


1870!  NKGOTIMING  TIIK   CAl'irULATION  113 

legs  do  not  seem  in  proportion  with  the  long  upper  part  of  the 
body.  His  whole  appearance  has  something  unmilitary  about 
it.  The  man  is  too  soft,  I  am  incHned  to  think  too  pulpy,  for 
the  uniform  he  wears.  One  could  even  fancy  that  he  is  capable 
of  becoming  sentimental  at  times.  Those  ideas,  which  are  mere 
impressions,  force  themselves  upon  one  all  the  more  when  one 
glances  at  the  tall,  well-set  figure  of  our  Chancellor.  Napoleon 
seems  fatigued,  but  not  very  much  depressed.  Nor  docs  he 
look  so  old  as  I  had  expected.  He  might  pass  for  a  tolerably 
well-preserved  man  of  fifty.  After  a  while  he  goes  over  to  the 
Chief,  and  speaks  to  him  for  about  three  minutes,  and  then  — 
still  smoking  and  with  his  hands  behind  his  back^ — ^  walks  up 
and  down  by  the  potato  garden.  A  further  short  conversation 
follows  between  the  Chancellor  and  the  Emperor,  begun  by 
Bismarck,  after  which  Napoleon  once  more  converses  with  his 
French  suite.  About  a  quarter  to  9  o'clock  Bismarck  and  his 
cousin  leave,  going  in  the  direction  of  Donchery,  whither  I 
follow  them. 

The  Minister  repeatedly  related  the  occurrences  of  this 
morning  and  the  preceding  night.  In  the  following  paragraphs 
I  unite  all  these  various  statements  into  a  connected  whole.  The 
sense  of  what  the  Chancellor  said  is  faithfully  given  throughout, 
and  his  own  words  are  in  great  part  reproduced. 

"After  the  battle  of  the  ist  of  September,  Moltke  and  I 
went  to  Donchery,  about  five  kilometres  from  Sedan,  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  on  the  negotiations  with  the  French.  We 
spent  the  night  there,  the  King  and  his  suite  returning  to  Ven- 
dresse.  The  negotiations  lasted  until  midnight,  without,  how- 
ever, leading  to  an  understanding.  In  addition  to  Moltke  and 
myself,  Blumenthal  and  three  or  four  other  officers  of  the  gen- 
eral staff  were  present.  General  Wimpffen  was  the  French 
spokesman.  Moltke's  demand  was  very  short.  The  whole 
French  army  must  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war.  Wimpffen 
considered  that  too  hard.  The  army  had  deserved  better  treat- 
ment by  the  gallantry  it  had  shown  in  action.  We  ought  to  be 
content  to  let  them  go  on  condition  that  they  took  no  further 
part  in  the  war  and  removed  to  some  district  in  France  to  be 
fixed  upon  by  us,  or  to  Algiers.  Moltke  quietly  maintained  his 
demand.  Wimpffen  dwelt  upon  his  own  unfortunate  position. 
He  had  joined  the  troops  two  days  before  on  his  return  from 

VOL.  I.  —  I 


114  IJ^t:   FKi:.\CII   CANNOT   BE  TRUSTED  [Siin,  2 

Africa,  and  only  took  over  the  command  when  MacMahon  was 
wounded  towards  the  close  of  the  battle  — and  yet  he  must  now 
put  his  signature  to  such  a  capitulation.  He  would  rather  try 
to  hold  the  fortress  or  venture  a  sortie.  Moltke  regretted  that 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  make  allowance  for  the  position  of 
the  general,  the  hardship  of  which  he  appreciated.  He  recog- 
nised the  gallantry  of  the  French  troops,  but  they  could  not 
possibly  hold  Sedan,  and  a  sortie  was  out  of  the  question.  He 
was  prepared  to  allow  one  of  the  general's  officers  to  inspect 
our  positions,  in  order  that  he  might  convince  himself  of  that 
fact.  VVimpffen  then  urged  that  from  a  political  standpoint  it 
was  advisable  to  grant  better  terms.  We  must  desire  a  speedy 
and  permanent  peace,  and  we  could  now  secure  it  if  we  acted 
generously.  A  considerate  treatment  of  the  army  would  put 
both  the  soldiers  and  the  whole  people  under  an  obligation  of 
gratitude,  and  would  inspire  friendly  feelings  towards  us.  An 
opposite  course  would  lead  to  endless  war.  I  intervened  at  this 
point,  as  my  trade  came  into  question  here.  I  told  Wimpffen 
it  was  possible  to  trust  to  the  gratitude  of  a  Prince  but  not  to 
that  of  a  people,  and  least  of  all  to  that  of  the  French.  They 
had  no  permanent  institutions,  they  were  constantly  changing 
governments  and  dynasties,  which  were  not  bound  by  what  their 
predecessors  had  undertaken.  If  the  Emperor's  throne  were 
secure  it  would  be  possible  to  count  upon  his  gratitude  in  return 
for  more  favourable  conditions.  As  matters  stood  it  would  be 
foolish  not  to  avail  themselves  to  the  full  of  the  advantages  of 
our  success.  The  French  were  an  envious,  jealous  people. 
They  were  angry  with  us  for  our  victory  at  Sadowa,  and  could 
not  forgive  us  for  it,  although  it  had  not  injured  them.  How 
then  could  any  generosity  on  our  part  prevent  them  from  bear- 
ing us  a  grudge  for  Sedan.'  Wimjiffen  could  not  agree  to  that. 
The  F"rench  had  changed  latterly,  and  had  learnt  under  the 
r^mpire  to  think  more  of  peaceful  interests  than  of  the  glory  of 
war.  They  were  ready  to  j:)roclaim  the  brotherhood  of  nations, 
and  so  on.  It  was  not  difficult  to  prove  the  contrary,  and  to 
show  that  the  acceptance  of  his  proposals  would  lead  rather  to 
a  prolongation  of  the  war  than  to  its  termination.  I  finished 
by  saying  that  we  must  maintain  our  conditions.  Castelneau 
then  s])oke,  exj)laining  on  behalf  of  the  luiiperor  that  the  latter 
!-;ad  only  given  up  his  sword  on  the  i>revious  day  in  the  hope  of 


1870J  NAPOLEON   ASKS   TO   SEK   BISMARCK  II5 

an  honourable  capitulation.  I  asked,  'Whose  sword  was  that? 
The  Emperor's,  or  that  of  France?'  He  repHed,  'Merely  the 
Emperor's.'  'Well  then,'  interjected  Moltke,  sharp  as  light- 
ning—  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  overspreading  his  hawk-like 
features  - —  '  there  can  be  no  further  question  of  any  other  con- 
ditions.' 'Very  well,'  declared  Wimpffen,  'in  that  case  we 
shall  renew  the  fight  to-morrow.'  '  I  will  see  that  our  fire  com- 
mences at  4  o'clock,'  said  Moltke,  on  which  the  French  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  retire.  I  induced  them,  however,  to  remain 
a  little  longer  and  to  consider  the  matter  once  more.  The 
result  was  that  they  ultimately  begged  for  an  extension  of  the 
armistice,  in  order  to  consult  with  their  people  in  Sedan.  At 
first  Moltke  did  not  wish  to  agree  to  this,  but  finally  consented 
on  my  pointing  out  to  him  that  it  could  do  no  harm. 

"  Towards  6  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  2nd  of  Septem- 
ber, General  Reille  appeared  before  my  lodging  at  Donchery, 
and  said  the  Emperor  wished  to  speak  to  me.  I  dressed 
immediately  and  got  on  horseback,  dirty,  unwashed,  and  dusty 
as  I  was,  to  ride  to  Sedan,  where  I  expected  to  see  the  Em- 
peror. I  met  him,  however,  on  the  road  near  Fresnois,  three 
kilometres  from  Donchery.  He  sat  with  three  officers  in  a 
two-horse  carriage,  three  others  accompanying  him  on  horse- 
back. Of  these  officers  I  only  knew  Reille,  Castelneau,  Mos- 
cowa,  and  Vaubert.  I  had  my  revolver  buckled  round  my 
waist,  and  as  I  found  myself  alone  in  the  presence  of  the  six 
officers  I  may  have  glanced  at  it  involuntarily.  I  may  perhaps 
even  have  instinctively  laid  my  hand  upon  it.  Napoleon  prob- 
ably noticed  that,  as  his  face  turned  an  ashy  grey.  Possibly 
he  thought  that  history  might  repeat  itself  —  I  think  it  was  a 
Prince  de  Conde  who  was  murdered  while  a  prisoner  after  a 
battle.i 

"  I  saluted  in  military  fashion.  The  Emperor  took  off  his 
cap,  the  officers  following  his  example,  whereupon  I  also 
removed  mine,  although  it  was  contrary  to  the  regulations  to 
do  so.  He  said,  '  Couvrez-vous,  done'  I  treated  him  exactly 
as  if  we  were  at  Saint  Cloud,  and  asked  him  what  his  com- 
mands were.     He  wished  to  know  whether  he  could  speak  to 

^  Louis  de  Conde  was  treacherously  murdered  on  the  12th  of  March,  1569,  after 
the  engagement  at  Jarnac,  just  as  he  had  deUvered  up  his  sword  to  an  officer  of  the 
royal  army,  being  shot  by  one  Montesquieu,  a  captain  of  the  guards. 


Il6  THE   INTERVIEW  [Sept.  2 

the  King.  I  said  that  was  impossible,  as  his  Majesty's  quar- 
ters were  about  two  German  miles  away.  I  did  not  wish  him 
to  see  the  King  before  we  had  come  to  an  understanding  as  to 
the  capitulation.  He  then  asked  where  he  could  wait,  which 
indicated  that  he  could  not  return  to  Sedan,  as  he  had  cither 
experienced  or  apprehended  some  unpleasantness  there.  The 
town  was  full  of  drunken  soldiers,  which  was  a  great  hardship 
for  the  inhabitants.  I  offered  him  my  quarters  at  Donchery, 
which  I  was  prepared  to  leave  immediately.  He  accepted  the 
offer,  but  when  we  had  come  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 
the  town  he  asked  whether  he  could  not  stay  in  a  house  which 
he  saw  by  the  road.  I  sent  my  cousin,  who  had  followed  me, 
to  view  the  house.  On  his  report  I  told  the  Emperor  that  it 
was  a  very  poor  place.  He  replied  that  it  did  not  matter. 
After  he  had  gone  over  to  the  house  and  come  back  again, 
having  probably  been  unable  to  find  the  stairs,  which  were  at 
the  back,  I  accompanied  him  to  the  first  floor,  where  we  entered 
a  small  room  with  one  window.  It  was  the  best  in  the  house, 
but  its  only  furniture  was  a  deal  table  and  two  rush-bottomed 
chairs. 

"  Here  I  had  a  conversation  with  him  which  lasted  for 
nearly  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  He  complained  first  of  this 
fatal  war,  which  he  had  not  desired.  He  was  forced  into  it  by 
the  pressure  of  public  opinion.  I  replied  that  in  Germany  no- 
body had  wished  for  war,  and  the  King  least  of  all.  We  had 
regarded  the  Spanish  question  as  a  matter  concerning  Spain 
and  not  Germany,  and  we  were  justified  in  expecting  from  the 
good  relations  between  the  princely  house  of  Hohenzollern  and 
himself,  that  an  understanding  could  be  easily  come  to  with  the 
Hereditary  Prince.  We  then  went  on  to  speak  of  the  present 
situation.  He  wished  above  all  to  obtain  more  favourable  terms 
of  cajiitulation.  I  exi)lained  that  I  could  not  go  into  that  ques- 
tion, as  it  was  a  purely  military  one,  with  which  Moltke  would 
have  to  deal.  On  the  other  hand  it  was  open  to  us  to  discuss 
an  eventual  peace.  He  replied  that  he  was  a  prisoner,  and 
therefore  not  in  a  position  to  decide.  On  my  asking  him  wliom 
he  regarded  as  competent  to  treat,  he  refcircd  me  to  the  Gov- 
ernment in  Paris.  I  observed  that  the  situation  had  therefore 
not  changed  since  yesterday  and  that  we  must  maintain  our 
demand  rcs})ecting  the  army  in  Sedan,  as  a  guarantee  that  we 


1S70J  WILLIAM    AND    NAPOLEON  I  I7 

should  not  lose  the  benefits  of  our  victory.  Moltke,  to  whom 
I  had  sent  word,  and  who  had  arrived  in  the  meantime,  was 
of  the  same  opinion  and  went  to  the  King  in  order  to  tell 
him  so. 

"  Standing  before  the  house  the  Emperor  praised  our  army 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  led.  On  my  acknowledg- 
ing that  the  French  had  also  fought  well,  he  came  back  to  the 
conditions  of  the  capitulation,  and  asked  whether  we  could  not 
allow  the  troops  shut  up  in  Sedan  to  cross  the  Belgian  frontier, 
there  to  be  disarmed  and  held  as  prisoners.  I  tried  again  to 
make  it  clear  to  him  that  that  was  a  question  for  the  military 
authorities,  and  could  not  be  settled  without  the  concurrence 
of  Moltke.  Besides,  he  himself  had  just  declared  that  as  a 
prisoner  he  was  not  able  to  exercise  his  authority,  and  that 
accordingly  negotiations  respecting  questions  of  that  kind 
should  be  carried  on  with  the  principal  ofBcer  in  command  at 
Sedan. 

"  In  the  meantime  a  search  had  been  made  for  a  better 
lodging  for  the  Emperor,  and  the  officers  of  the  general  staff 
found  that  the  little  chateau  of  Bellevue  near  Fresnois,  where  I 
first  met  him,  was  suitable  for  his  reception,  and  was  not  yet 
requisitioned  for  the  wounded.  I  advised  him  to  remove  there, 
as  it  would  be  more  comfortable  than  the  weaver's  house,  and 
that  possibly  he  wanted  rest.  We  would  let  the  King  know 
that  he  was  there.  He  agreed  to  this,  and  I  rode  back  to 
Donchery  to  change  my  clothes.  I  then  accompanied  him  to 
Bellevue  with  a  squadron  of  the  ist  Cuirassier  Regiment  as  a 
guard  of  honour.  The  Emperor  wished  the  King  to  be  present 
at  the  negotiations  which  began  here,  —  doubtless  counting  on 
his  soft-heartedness  and  good  nature,  —  but  he  also  desired  me 
to  take  part  in  them.  I  had  however  decided  that  the  soldiers, 
who  were  made  of  sterner  stuff,  should  settle  the  affair  by  them- 
selves ;  and  so  I  whispered  to  an  officer  as  I  went  up  the  stairs 
to  call  me  in  five  minutes  and  say  that  the  King  wanted  to 
speak  to  me.  This  was  accordingly  done.  Napoleon  was  in- 
formed that  he  could  only  see  the  King  after  the  conclusion  of 
the  capitulation.  The  matter  was  therefore  arranged  between 
Moltke  and  Wimpffen,  much  on  the  lines  that  were  laid  down 
the  evening  before.  Then  the  two  monarchs  met.  As  the 
Emperor  came  out  after  the  interview,  his  eyes  were  filled  with 


il8  REVIEWING  THE  BATTLEFIELD  [Sept.  2 

heavy  tears.  In  speaking  to  me  he  was  much  less  affected,  and 
was  perfectly  dignified." 

We  had  no  detailed  particulars  of  these  events  on  the  fore- 
noon of  the  2nd  of  September ;  and  from  the  moment  when 
the  Chief,  in  a  fresh  uniform  and  cuirassier's  helmet,  rode  off 
from  Donchery  until  late  at  night,  we  only  heard  vague  rumours 
of  what  was  going  on.  About  10.30  a.  m.  a  detachment  of  Wiir- 
tembcrg  artillery  drove  past  our  house  at  a  trot.  In  every 
direction  clouds  of  dust  rose  from  the  hoofs  of  the  cavalry, 
while  the  bayonets  of  long  columns  of  infantry  glistened  in 
the  sun.  The  road  at  our  feet  was  filled  with  a  procession  of 
waggons  loaded  with  baggage  and  forage.  Presently  we  met 
Lieutenant  von  Czernicki,  who  wanted  to  go  into  Sedan,  and 
invited  us  to  drive  with  him  in  his  little  carriage.  We  had 
accompanied  him  nearly  as  far  as  Fresnois,  when,  at  about 
I  o'clock,  we  met  the  King  with  a  large  suite  on  horseback,  in- 
cluding the  Chancellor,  coming  in  the  opposite  direction.  As 
it  was  probable  that  the  Chief  was  going  to  Donchery  we  got 
out  and  followed  him.  The  party,  however,  which  included 
Hatzfeld  and  Abeken,  rode  through  the  town,  and  we  heard 
that  they  were  reviewing  the  battlefield.  As  we  did  not  know 
how  long  the  Minister  would  remain  away  we  did  not  venture 
to  leave  Donchery. 

About  1.30  P.M.  some  thousands  of  prisoners  marched  through 
the  town  on  their  way  to  Germany.  Most  of  them  were  on  foot, 
but  some  of  them  were  in  carts.  They  included  about  si.xty  to 
seventy  officers,  and  a  general  who  was  on  horseback.  Amongst 
the  prisoners  were  cuirassiers  in  white  helmets,  blue  hussars 
with  white  facings,  and  infantrymen  of  the  22nd,  52nd, 
and  58th  regiments.  They  were  escorted  by  Wiirtemberg 
infantry.  At  2  o'clock  followed  a  second  batch  of  about 
2000  prisoners,  amongst  whom  were  negroes  in  Arab  cos- 
tume—  tall,  broad-shouldered  fellows,  with  savage,  ape-like 
features,  and  some  old  soldiers  wearing  the  Crimean  and  Mexi- 
can medals. 

A  little  after  3  o'clock  two  French  guns  with  their  ammuni- 
tion waggons  and  still  drawn  by  French  horses  passed  through 
our  street.  The  words  "5,  Jager,  G<)rlitz"  were  written  in 
chalk  on  one  of  the  guns.  Shortly  afterwards  a  fire  broke  out 
in  one  of  the  streets  to  the  left  of  our  quarters.     Wiirtemberg 


iSyoJ  NAl'OLKON   TO   CO   TO   WTLIIELMSIIOIIK  1 19 

soldiers  had  opened  a  cask  of  brandy  and  had  imprudently 
made  a  fire  near  it. 

Considerable  distress  prevailed  in  the  town,  and  even  our 
landlord  (he  and  his  wife  were  good  souls)  suffered  from  a 
scarcity  of  bread.  The  place  was  overcrowded  with  soldiers, 
who  were  quartered  on  the  inhabitants,  and  with  the  wounded, 
who  were  sometimes  put  up  in  stables.  Some  of  the  people 
attached  to  the  Court  tried  to  secure  our  house  for  the  Heredi- 
tary Grand  Duke  of  Weimar,  but  we  held  out  successfully 
against  them.  Then  an  officer  wanted  to  quarter  a  Prince  of 
Mecklenburg  upon  us,  but  we  also  sent  him  packing,  telling 
hirn  it  was  out  of  the  question,  as  the  Chancellor  of  the  Con- 
federation lodged  there.  After  a  short  absence,  however,  I 
found  that  the  Weimar  gentlemen  had  forced  themselves  into 
the  house.  We  had  reason  to  be  thankful  that  they  did  not 
turn  our  Chief  out  of  his  bed. 

The  Minister  only  returned  after  1 1  o'clock,  and  I  had  sup- 
per with  him,  the  party  also  including  the  Hereditary  Grand 
Duke  of  Weimar,  in  the  uniform  of  the  Light  Blue  Hussars, 
and  Count  Solms-Sonnenwalde,  formerly  attached  to  the  Em- 
bassy in  Paris,  and  now  properly  speaking  a  member  of  our 
staff,  although  we  had  seen  very  little  of  him  recently. 

The  Chancellor  gave  us  very  full  particulars  of  his  ride  over 
the  battlefield.  He  had  been  nearly  twelve  hours  in  the  saddle, 
with  short  intervals.  They  had  been  over  the  whole  field,  and 
were  received  with  great  enthusiasm  in  all  the  camps  and 
bivouacs.  It  was  said  that  during  the  battle  our  troops  had 
taken  over  25,000  prisoners,  while  40,000  w^ho  were  in  Sedan 
surrendered  under  the  capitulation,  which  was  concluded  about 
noon. 

The  Minister  told  us  that  Napoleon  was  to  leave  for  Ger- 
many, that  is  to  say  for  Wilhelmshohe,  on  the  following  morn- 
ing. "The  question  is,"  said  the  Chief,  "whether  he  is  to  go 
by  way  of  Stenay  and  Bar  le  Due  or  through  Belgium."  "  In 
Belgium  he  would  no  longer  be  a  prisoner,"  said  Solms.  "Well, 
that  would  not  matter,"  replied  the  Chief,  "and  it  would  not 
even  do  any  harm  if  he  took  another  direction.  I  was  in 
favour  of  his  going  through  Belgium,  and  he  seemed  also 
inclined  to  take  that  route  If  he  failed  to  keep  his  word  it 
would  not  injure  us.      But  it  would  be  necessary  to  communi- 


T20  THE   FRENCH    riUSOXERS  [Skit.  2 

cate  beforehand  with  Brussels,  and  we  could  not  have  an 
answer  in  less  than  two  days." 

About  8  o'clock  on  the  following  morning,  just  as  I  was  at 
breakfast,  we  heard  a  noise  which  sounded  like  heavy  firing. 
It  was  only  the  horses  in  a  neighbouring  stable  stamping  on  the 
wooden  floor,  probably  out  of  temper  that  they  also  should  have 
been  put  on  short  commons,  as  the  drivers  had  only  been  able 
to  give  them  half  measures  of  oats.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there 
was  a  general  scarcity.  I  heard  subsequently  that  Hatzfeld 
had  been  commissioned  by  the  Chief  to  go  to  Brussels.  Shortly 
afterwards  the  Chancellor  called  me  to  his  bedside.  He  had 
received  500  cigars,  and  wished  me  to  divide  them  among  the 
wounded.  I  accordingly  betook  myself  to  the  barracks,  which 
had  been  transformed  into  a  hospital,  and  to  the  bedrooms, 
barns,  and  stables  in  the  street  behind  our  house.  At  first  I 
only  wished  to  divide  my  stock  amongst  the  Prussians;  but  the 
Frenchmen  who  were  sitting  by  cast  such  longing  glances  at 
them,  and  their  German  neighbours  on  the  straw  pleaded  so 
warmly  on  their  behalf  —  "We  can't  let  them  look  on  while  we 
are  smoking,  they  too  have  shared  everything  with  us  "  —  that 
I  regarded  it  as  no  robbery  to  give  them  some  too.  They  all 
complained  of  hunger,  and  asked  how  long  they  were  going  to 
be  kept  there.  Later  on  they  were  supplied  with  soup,  bread, 
and  sausages,  and  some  of  those  in  the  barns  and  stables  were 
even  treated  to  bouillon  and  chocolate  by  a  Bavarian  volunteer 
hospital  attendant. 

The  morning  was  cold,  dull,  and  rainy.  The  masses  of 
Prussian  and  Wurtemberg  troops  who  marched  through  the 
town  seemed,  however,  in  the  best  of  spirits.  They  sang  to 
the  music  of  their  bands.  In  all  probability  the  feelings  of 
the  prisoners  who  sat  in  the  long  line  of  carts  that  passed  in  the 
opposite  direction  at  the  same  time  were  more  in  harmony 
with  the  disagreeable  weather  and  the  clouded  sky.  About  10 
o'clock,  as  I  waded  in  the  drizzling  rain  through  the  deep  mud 
of  the  market-place  in  fulfilment  of  my  mission  to  the  wounded, 
I  met  a  long  procession  of  conveyances  coming  from  the  Meuse 
bridge  imder  the  escort  of  the  black  death's-head  hussars. 
Most  of  them  were  covered  coaches,  the  remainder  being  bag- 
gage and  commissariat  carts.  They  were  followed  by  a  number 
of  saddle  horses.      In  a  closed  coupd  immediately  behind  the 


KV;u|  I'RKNCIl    ANi^    I'RU.SSlAN    GU\S  121 

hussars  sat  the  "  Prisoner  of  Sedan,"  the  Emperor  Napoleon, 
on  his  way  to  VVilhehnshc^he  through  Belgium.  General  Castel- 
neau  had  a  seat  in  his  carriage.  He  was  followed  in  an  open 
waggonette  by  the  infantry  general,  Adjutant-General  von 
Boyen,  who  had  been  selected  by  the  King  as  the  Emperor's 
travelling  companion,  and  by  Prince  Lynar  and  some  of  the 
officers  who  had  been  present  at  Napoleon's  meeting  with  the 
Chancellor  on  the  previous  day.  "  Boyen  is  capitally  suited  for 
that  mission,"  said  the  Chief  to  us  the  night  before;  ''he  can 
be  extremely  rude  in  the  most  polite  way."  The  Minister  was 
probably  thinking  of  the  possibility  that  some  of  the  officers  in 
the  entourage  of  the  august  prisoner  might  take  liberties. 

We  learned  afterwards  that  an  indirect  route  through 
Donchery  had  been  taken,  as  the  Emperor  was  particularly 
anxious  not  to  pass  through  Sedan.  The  hussars  went  as  far 
as  the  frontier  near  Bouillon,  the  nearest  Belgian  town.  The 
Emperor  was  not  treated  with  disrespect  by  the  French 
prisoners  whom  the  party  passed  on  the  way.  The  officers  on 
the  other  hand  had  occasionally  to  listen  to  some  unpleasant 
remarks.  Naturally  they  were  "traitors,"  as  indeed  from  this 
time  forward  everybody  was  who  lost  a  battle  or  suffered  any 
other  mishap.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  particularly  painful 
moment  for  these  gentlemen  when  they  passed  a  great  number 
of  P'rench  field-pieces  that  had  fallen  into  our  hands.  Boyen 
related  the  following  anecdote.  One  of  the  Emperor's  aides- 
de-camp,  I  believe  it  was  the  Prince  de  la  Moscowa,  thought 
the  guns  belonged  to  us,  as  they  were  drawn  by  our  horses,  yet 
was  apparently  struck  by  something  in  their  appearance.  He 
asked :  — 

"  Quoi,  est-ce  que  vous  avez  deux  systemes  d'artillerie  }  " 

"  Non,  monsieur,  nous  n'avons  qu'un  seul,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Mais  ces  canons-la  .-'  " 

"lis  ne  sont  pas  les  notres,  monsieur." 


CHAPTER  VII 

FROM  THE  MEUSE  TO  THE  MARNE 

I  AGAIN  quote  from  my  diary. 

Saturday^  Septe7nber  ^^rd.  —  We  left  Donchery  shortly  be- 
fore I  o'clock.  On  the  way  we  were  overtaken  by  a  short  but 
severe  storm,  the  thunder  echoing  along  the  valleys.  This  was 
followed  by  a  heavy  rain,  which  thoroughly  drenched  the  Chan- 
cellor, who  sat  in  an  open  carriage,  as  he  told  us  in  the  evening 
at  table.  Happily  it  had  no  serious  consequences:  it  depends 
more  on  diplomacy,  and  if  the  Chief  were  to  fall  ill  who  could 
replace  him } 

I  drove  with  the  Councillors.  Count  Bohlen  gave  us  numer- 
ous details  of  the  events  of  yesterday.  Napoleon  had  left 
Sedan  at  such  an  early  hour — it  must  have  been  before  or 
shortly  after  daybreak  —  because  he  felt  it  was  unsafe  to  re- 
main in  the  midst  of  the  furious  soldiery,  who  were  packed 
into  the  fortress  like  herrings  in  a  barrel,  and  who  burst  into 
paroxysms  of  rage,  breaking  their  rifles  and  swords  on  hearing 
of  the  capitulation.  During  the  first  interview  at  Donchery  the 
Minister  had,  amongst  other  things,  told  Wimpffen  he  must  be 
well  aware  that  the  arrogance  and  quarrelsomeness  of  the 
French,  and  their  jealousy  at  the  success  of  neighbouring 
peoples,  did  not  originate  with  the  working  and  industrial 
classes,  but  with  the  journalists  and  the  mob.  These  elements, 
however,  swayed  public  opinion,  constraining  it  to  their  will. 
For  that  reason  the  moral  guarantees  to  which  the  general  had 
referred  would  be  of  no  value.  We  must  have  material  guaran- 
tees, at  present  by  the  capitulation  of  the  army  in  Sedan,  and 
then  by  the  cession  of  the  great  fortresses  in  the  East.  The 
surrender  of  the  French  troops  took  place  on  a  kind  of  penin- 
sula formed  by  a  bend  of  the  Meuse.  Moltkc  had  ridden  out 
some  distance  from  Vendresse  to  meet  the  King.  The  interview 
between  the  two  Sovereigns  took  place  in  the  drawing-room  of 

122 


Skii.  4.  i<'<7o]       A    Lfc;i-i'KR    FROM   THE   CHANCELLOR'S  WIFE  1 23 

the  chateau  of  Hellcvue.  They  were  alone  together  for  about 
ten  minutes.  Subsequently  the  King  summoned  the  officers  of 
his  suite,  ordered  the  capitulation  to  be  read  to  him,  and  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  thanked  them  for  their  assistance.  The  Crown 
Prince  is  understood  to  have  informed  the  Hessian  regiments 
that  the  King  had  selected  Cassel  for  the  internment  of  the 
Emperor  Napoleon,  in  recognition  of  their  gallantry. 

The  Minister  dined  with  the  King  at  Vendresse,  where  we 
once  more  put  up  for  the  night,  but  he  nevertheless  took  some 
refreshment  with  us  afterwards.  He  read  over  to  us  a  portion 
of  a  letter  from  his  wife,  energetically  expressing  in  biblical 
terms  her  hope  that  the  French  would  be  destroyed.  He  then 
added  meditatively,  "Well,  in  1866  —  seven  days.  This  time 
possibly  seven  times  seven.  Yes  —  when  did  we  cross  the 
frontier  ?  On  the  4th  ?  No,  on  the  lOth  of  August.  Five 
weeks  ago.     Seven  times  seven  —  it  may  be  possible." 

I  again  send  off  a  couple  of  articles  to  Germany,  amongst 
them  being  one  on  the  results  of  the  battle  of  the  ist 
September. 

We  are  to  start  for  Reims  to-morrow,  our  first  halt  to  be  at 
Rethel. 

Rethel,  September  4th.  Evening.  —  Early  this  morning  be- 
fore we  left  Vendresse  I  was  called  to  the  Chief,  to  receive 
instructions  respecting  reports  for  the  newspapers  of  his  meet- 
ing with  Napoleon.  Towards  the  close  he  practically  dictated 
what  I  was  to  say.^  Shortly  afterwards,  about  half-past  10,  the 
carriages  arrived,  and  we  began  our  journey  into  the  cham- 
pagne country.  The  way  was  at  first  somewhat  hilly,  then  we 
came  to  a  softly  undulating  plain,  with  numerous  fruit  gar- 
dens, and  finally  to  a  poor  district  with  very  few  villages.  We 
passed  some  large  detachments  of  troops,  at  first  Bavarians, 
and  afterwards  the  6th  and  50th  Prussian  regiments.  Amongst 
the  latter  Willisch  saw  his  brother,  who  had  been  in  battle  and 
had  escaped  unwounded.  A  little  further  on  the  carriage  of 
Prince  Charles  had  to  be  left  behind  at  a  village,  as  the  axle 
had  caught  fire.  We  took  Count  Donhoff,  the  Prince's  master 
of  the  horse,  and  Major  von  Freyberg,  aide-de-camp  to  Prince 
Luitpold  of    Bavaria,   into   our   conveyance.     The   tragedy  at 

1  These  particulars  are  worked  up  into  the  preceding  chapter. 


124  "METZ   AND    STRASBURG   WHAT   WE    RFJ^LTRE"        [Skkt.  5 

Bazeillcs  was  mentioned,  and  the  Major  gave  an  account  of 
the  circumstances,  which  differed  considerably  from  that  of 
Count  Bohlen.  According  to  him  twenty  peasants,  including 
one  woman,  lost  their  lives,  but  they  were  killed  in  fight  while 
opposing  the  soldiers,  who  stormed  the  place,  A  priest  was 
afterwards  shot  by  court-martial.  The  Major,  however,  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  a  witness  of  the  occurrences  which  he 
relates,  so  that  his  account  of  the  affair  may  also  prove  to  be 
inaccurate.  He  knew  nothing  of  the  hangings  mentioned  by 
Bohlen.  There  are  some  people  whose  tongues  are  more  cruel 
than  their  dispositions. 

We  arrived  at  Rethel  about  5.30  p.m.  The  quartermaster 
had  chosen  a  lodging  for  us  in  the  roomy  and  well-furnished 
residence  of  one  M.  Duval,  in  the  Rue  Grand  Pont.  The 
entire  field  bureau  of  the  Foreign  Office  was  quartered  in 
this  house.  After  dinner  I  was  summoned  three  times  to 
receive  instructions  from  the  Chief.  Amongst  other  things 
he  said:  "  Metz  and  Strasburg  are  what  we  require  and  what 
we  wish  to  take  —  that  is,  the  fortresses.  Alsace  is  a  profes- 
sorial idea."  He  evidently  referred  to  the  strong  emphasis 
laid  upon  the  German  past  of  that  province  and  the  circum- 
stance that  the  inhabitants  still  retained  the  use  of  the  German 
language. 

In  the  meantime  the  German  newspapers  were  delivered. 
It  was  highly  satisfactory  to  observe  that  the  South  German 
press  also  began  to  oppose  the  efforts  of  foreign  dijilomacy 
which  desired  to  mediate  in  the  negotiations  for  peace  between 
ourselves  and  France.  In  this  respect  the  Sc]iwdbisclic  Mcrkitr 
was  perfectly  in  accord  with  the  Chief's  views  in  saying: 
"  When  the  German  peoples  marched  to  the  Rhine  in  order 
to  defend  their  native  land,  European  diplomacy  said  the  two 
antagonists  must  be  allowed  to  fight  out  their  own  quarrel,  and 
that  the  war  must  be  thus  localised.  Well,  we  have  carried 
on  that  war  alone  against  those  who  threatened  all  I--urope, 
and  we  now  also  desire  to  localise  the  conclusion  of  peace.  In 
Paris  we  shall  ourselves  dictate  the  conditions  which  must 
protect  the  German  people  from  a  renewal  of  such  predacious 
invasion  as  the  war  of  1870,  and  the  diplomats  of  foreign 
Pf)wcrs  who  looked  on  as  spectators  shall  not  be  allowed  to 
have  anything  to  say  in  the  matter.     Those  who  took  no  part 


1870]  WK   ARRIVE   AT   REIMS  1 25 

in  the  fight  shall  have  no  voice  in  the  negotiations."  "We 
must  breed  other  articles  from  this  one,"  said  the  Chief,  and 
it  did. 

Reims,  September  ^th.  —  During  the  whole  forenoon  great 
masses  of  troops  marched  along  a  road  not  far  from  our  quar- 
ters at  Rethel  Bridge.  The  procession  was  closed  by  four 
regiments  of  Prussian  infantry.  It  was  very  noticeable  how 
few  officers  there  were.  Several  companies  were  under  the 
command  of  young  lieutenants  or  ensigns.  This  was  the  case 
with  the  6th  and  46th,  one  battalion  of  which  carried  a  capt- 
ured French  eagle.  Although  the  day  was  stifiingly  hot,  and 
the  men  were  covered  with  the  white  dust  of  the  limestone 
roads,  they  marched  steadily  and  well.  Our  coachman  placed 
a  bucket  of  water  by  the  way,  so  that  they  could  fill  their  tin 
cans  and  glasses,  and  sometimes  their  helmets,  as  they  passed. 

Between  12  and  i  o'clock  we  started  for  Reims;  the  district 
through  which  the  road  runs  is  in  great  part  an  undulating  plain 
with  few  villages. 

At  length  we  see  the  towers  of  the  Cathedral  of  Reims  rising 
over  the  glistening  plains,  and  beyond  the  town  the  blue  heights 
that  change  to  green  as  we  approach  them,  and  show  white 
villages  along  their  sides.  We  drive  at  first  through  poor  out- 
skirts and  then  through  better  streets,  and  across  a  square  with 
a  monument,  to  the  Rue  de  Cloitre,  where  we  take  up  our  quar- 
ters, opposite  the  Cathedral,  in  a  handsome  house,  which  belongs 
to  a  M.  Dauphinot.  The  Chief  lodged  on  the  first  floor,  while 
the  office  was  set  up  on  the  ground  floor.  The  streets  are 
crowded  with  Prussian  and  Wiirtemberg  soldiers.  The  King 
has  done  the  Archbishop  the  honour  of  taking  up  his  quarters 
in  his  Palace.  I  hear  that  our  landlord  is  the  Maire  of  Reims. 
Keudell  understands  that  the  territory  to  be  retained  by  us  at 
the  close  of  the  war  will  probably  not  be  incorporated  with  any 
one  State  or  divided  between  several,  but  will  become  the  col- 
lective possession  of  all  Germany. 

In  the  evening  the  Chief  dined  with  us,  and  as  we  are  here 
in  the  centre  of  the  champagne  country  we  try  several  brands. 
In  the  course  of  conversation  the  Chief  mentions  that  he  is 
usually  bored  at  the  royal  table.  "  When  there  are  but  few 
guests  I  sit  near  the  King,  and  then  it  is  tolerable.  But  when 
there   are  a   great   number    present    I   am  placed  between  the 


126  THE   REPUBLIC   PROCLAIMED   IX    PARIS  [Sept.  8 

Bavarian  Prince  and  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar,  and  then  the 
conversation  is  inexpressibly  tedious."  Some  one  remarked  that 
yesterday  a  shot  was  fired  out  of  a  cafe  at  a  squadron  of  our 
hussars.  The  Minister  said  the  house  must  be  immediately 
destroyed,  and  the  proprietor  tried  by  court-martial.  Stiebcr 
should  be  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  matter. 

I  understand  we  are  to  remain  here  for  ten  or  twelve  days. 

Tuesday,  September  6th.  —  I  have  been  working  hard  from 
10  to  3  o'clock  without  interruption  in  preparing,  amongst  other 
things,  exhaustive,  and  also  shorter,  articles  respecting  the  con- 
ditions upon  which  Germany  should  make  peace.  The  Chief 
found  an  article  that  appeared  in  the  Volks  Zeitung  of  the  31st 
of  August  "very  sensible  and  well  worth  calling  attention  to." 
The  writer  argued  against  the  annexation  to  Prussia  of  the  con- 
quered French  territory ;  and  after  endeavouring  to  show  that 
such  a  course  would  rather  weaken  than  strengthen  Prussia, 
concluded  with  the  words :  "  Our  aim  ought  to  be,  not  the 
aggrandisement  of  Prussia,  but  the  unification  of  Germany,  and 
to  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  France  to  harm  us."  Bamberger 
has  established  a  French  newspaper  at  Nancy,  to  which  we  are 
to  send  reports  from  time  to  time. 

At  dinner  Count  Bohlen  remarked,  as  he  counted  the  places, 
"I  hope  we  are  not  thirteen."  "No."  "That's  right,  as  the 
Minister  does  not  like  that  number."  Bohlen,  who  seems  to  be 
charged  with  the  supervision  of  the  fleshpots,  has  to-day  evi- 
dently inspired  the  genius  of  our  clief-de-cuisinc  to  one  of  his 
greatest  achievements.  The  dinner  is  magnificent.  Amongst 
the  guests  are  Von  Knobelsdorff,  a  captain  in  the  Guards ; 
Count  York,  and  one  Count  Brijhl,  a  somewhat  bashful  young 
man,  in  the  uniform  of  a  lieutenant  of  dragoons.  The  latter 
brought  the  great  news  that  a  Republic  had  been  proclaimed  in 
Paris'  and  a  Provisional  Government  appointed,  in  which  Gam- 
betta,  hitherto  one  of  the  orators  of  the  Opposition,  and  Favre 
have  portfolios.  Rochefort,  the  editor  of  La  Lanterne,  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Cabinet.  It  is  said  that  they  wish  to  continue 
the  war  against  us.  The  position  has,  therefore,  not  improved 
in  so  far  as  peace  is  concerned  ;  but  it  is  also  by  no  means 
worse,  especially  if  the  Republic  lasts,  and  it  becomes,  later  on, 
a  question  of  gaining  friends  at  foreign  Courts.  P\)r  the 
;)resent   it  is   all   over  with    Xai)olcon    and    Lulu.      Like   Loui.s 


ibjoj  UN-UNIFORMED   COMBATANTS  1 27 

Philippe  in  1848,  the  Empress  has  fled.  We  shall  soon  discover 
what  the  lawyers  and  literary  men,  who  have  now  taken  over 
the  conduct  of  affairs,  can  do.  Whether  France  will  recognise 
their  authority  remains  to  be  seen. 

Our  uhlans  are  now  at  Chateau  Thierry ;  in  two  days  they 
may  reach  Paris.  It  is  now  certain,  however,  that  we  shall 
remain  another  week  at  Reims.  Count  Bohlen  reported  to  the 
Chief  the  result  of  his  inquiries  respecting  the  caf6  from  which 
our  cavalry  were  fired  at.  Yielding  to  the  entreaties  of  the  pro- 
prietor, who  is  believed  to  be  innocent,  the  house  has  not  been 
destroyed.  Moreover,  the  treacherous  shot  failed  of  its  effect. 
The  proprietor  has  been  let  off  with  a  fine  of  two  hundred  or 
two  hundred  and  fifty  bottles  of  champagne,  to  be  presented  to 
the  squadron ;  and  this  he  gladly  paid. 

At  tea  somebody  (I  now  forget  who  it  was)  referred  to  the 
exceptional  position  accorded  to  the  Saxons  in  the  North  Ger- 
man Confederation  as  regards  military  arrangements.  The 
Chancellor  did  not  consider  the  matter  of  much  importance. 
"  Moreover,  that  arrangement  was  not  made  on  my  initiative," 
he  observed ;  "  Savigny  concluded  the  treaty,  as  I  was  seriously 
ill  at  the  time.  I  am  disposed  to  regard  even  less  narrowly  the 
arrangements  respecting  the  foreign  relations  of  the  smaller 
States.  Many  people  lay  too  much  stress  on  this  point,  and 
apprehend  danger  from  the  retention  of  their  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives besides  those  of  the  Confederation.  If  such  States 
were  in  other  respects  powerful,  they  could,  even  without  official 
representatives,  exchange  letters  with  foreign  Courts  and  in- 
trigue by  word  of  mouth  against  our  policy.  That  could  be 
managed  by  a  dentist  or  any  other  personage  of  that  descrip- 
tion. Moreover,  the  Diets  will  soon  refuse  to  grant  the  sums 
required  for  all  such  luxuries." 

Thursday,  September  Sth.  —  The  Chancellor  gives  a  great 
dinner,  the  guests  including  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  of 
Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  Herr  Stephan,  the  Chief  Director  of  the 
Post  Office,  and  the  three  Americans.  Amongst  other  matters 
mentioned  at  table  were  the  various  reports  as  to  the  affair  at 
Bazeilles.  The  Minister  said  that  peasants  could  not  be  per- 
mitted to  take  part  in  the  defence  of  a  position.  Not  being  in 
uniform  they  could  not  be  recognised  as  combatants  —  they 
were  able  to  throw  away  their  arms  unnoticed.     The  chances 


128  THE   FRENCH    MUST   BE   MADE  TO   SUEFER  [Skit,  ii 

must  be  equal  for  both  sides.  Abeken  considered  that  Bazeilles 
was  hardly  treated,  and  thought  the  war  ought  to  be  conducted 
in  a  more  humane  manner.  Sheridan,  to  whom  MacLean  has 
translated  these  remarks,  is  of  a  different  opinion.  He  con- 
siders that  in  war  it  is  expedient,  even  from  the  political  point 
of  view,  to  treat  the  population  with  the  utmost  rigour  also.  He 
expressed  himself  roughly  as  follows :  "  The  proper  strategy 
consists  in  the  first  place  in  inflicting  as  telling  blows  as  possible 
upon  the  enemy's  army,  and  then  in  causing  the  inhabitants  so 
much  suffering  that  they  must  long  for  peace,  and  force  their 
Government  to  demand  it.  The  people  must  be  left  nothing 
but  their  eyes  to  weep  with  over  the  war."  Somewhat  heartless, 
it  seems  to  me,  but  perhaps  worthy  of  consideration. 

Friday,  September  gth. —  Engaged  all  the  forenoon  and  until 
3  o'clock  in  writing  various  articles,  amongst  others  one  on  the 
inconceivable  attachment  of  the  Alsacians  to  France,  their  vol- 
untary helotry,  and  the  blindness  which  will  not  permit  them  to 
see  and  feel  that  the  Gauls  only  regard  them  as  a  kind  of  second- 
rate  Frenchmen,  and  in  many  respects  treat  them  accordingly. 
News  has  arrived  that  Paris  is  not  to  be  defended  against  us 
nor  regarded  as  a  fortress.  This  is  very  questionable,  as,  ac- 
cording to  other  reports,  the  French  have  still  some  regular 
troops  at  their  disposal,  although  not  many. 

Saturday,  September  loth.  — The  Chief  dined  with  the  King 
to-day,  but  also  joined  us  at  table  for  half  an  hour.  Rohlen, 
who  had  visited  the  Imperial  chateau  at  Mourmelon,  near  Cha- 
lons, told  us  how  the  people  had  wrecked  the  whole  j:>lace, 
breaking  the  furniture,  mirrors,  etc.  After  dinner  the  Chan- 
cellor had  a  long  talk  alone  with  Boyen  and  Delbriick,  who  were 
amongst  the  guests.  I  was  afterwards  summoned  to  the  Minis- 
ter to  receive  instructions  respecting  a  commtini^jii^  to  the  two 
French  newspapers  published  here,  namely  the  Courier  dr  la 
Cliavtpagne  and  the  Independent  R^mois.  It  was  to  tlic  follow- 
ing effect:  "  If  the  Reims  press  were  to  declare  itself  in  favour 
of  the  proclamation  of  a  French  Republic,  and  recognise  the 
new  Government  by  publishing  its  decrees,  it  might  be  inferred 
that  as  the  town  is  occu{;ied  by  (German  troops  the  organs  in 
question  were  acting  in  harmony  with  the  views  of  the  German 
Government.  This  is  not  the  case.  The  fiormiin  Government 
respects  the  lib'jrty  of  the  press  here  as  at  Iiome.      It  has,  how- 


1870J  THE   RED    SrELTRE  129 

ever,  up  to  the  present  recognised  no  Government  in  France  ex- 
cept that  of  the  lunperor  Napoleon.  Therefore  until  further 
notice  it  can  only  recognise  the  Imperial  Government  as  author- 
ised to  enter  upon  international  negotiations." 

I  give  the  following  from  my  diary  merely  to  show  the  genu- 
ine kindness  and  simple  good-heartedness  of  our  Chief.  After 
giving  me  my  instructions  he  remarked  that  I  had  not  been  look- 
ing well ;  and  when  I  told  him  I  had  been  rather  unwell  for  the 
last  few  days,  he  inquired  minutely  into  the  details,  and  asked 
me  whether  I  had  consulted  any  doctor.  I  said  I  had  not  much 
faith  in  physicians. 

"Well,"  he  replied,  "they  certainly  are  not  of  much  use  as 
a  rule,  and  often  only  make  us  worse.  But  this  is  no  laughing 
matter.  Send  to  Lauer- — -he  is  really  a  good  man.  I  cannot 
tell  you  how  much  my  health  owes  to  him  during  this  campaign. 
Go  to  bed  for  a  couple  of  days  and  you  will  be  all  right  again. 
Otherwise  you  will  have  a  relapse  and  may  not  be  able  to  stir 
for  three  weeks.  I  often  suffer  in  the  same  way,  and  then  I 
take  thirty  to  thirty-five  drops  from  that  little  bottle  on  the 
chimney-piece.  Take  it  with  you,  but  bring  it  back  again.  And 
when  I  send  for  you  tell  me  if  you  are  not  able  to  come  and  I 
will  go  to  you.     You  can  perhaps  write  in  bed." 

Sunday,  September  iith. — The  Chief's  bottle  has  had  an 
excellent  effect.  I  was  again  able  to  rise  early  and  work  with 
ease.  The  contents  of  the  co})i})inniqii^  ysoxo.  forwarded  to  the 
newspaper  at  Nancy  as  well  as  to  the  German  press.  It  was 
pointed  out,  in  correction  of  the  remarks  of  the  Kieler  Zeitwig 
and  the  Berlin  Volks::eitHng,  that  Prussia  did  not  conclude  the 
Peace  of  Prague  with  France,  but  with  Austria,  and  that,  con- 
sequently, the  French  have  as  little  to  do  with  paragraph  5  as 
with  any  other  paragraph  of  that  treaty. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  one  M.  Werle  called  upon  the 
Chief.  He  was  a  tall,  haggard  man,  with  the  red  ribbon  in  his 
button-hole,  which  appears  to  be  indispensable  to  every  well- 
dressed  Frenchman.  He  is  understood  to  be  a  m.ember  of 
the  Legislative  Chamber,  and  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Veuve 
Clicquot.  He  washed  to  speak  to  the  Chief  as  to  measures  for 
mitigating  the  distress  which  prevailed  in  the  town,  and  for 
providing  against  popular  riots.  It  was  feared  that  the  work- 
ing classes  here,  being  in  a  state  of  ferment,  would  declare  in 
^■oI..  I.  —  K 


130  FAVRE   "DOES   NOT   EXIST   FOR   US"  [Surr.  ii 

favour  of  a  Red  Republic.  As  Reims  was  an  industrial  centre, 
with  ten  or  twelve  thousand  ouvricrs  within  its  walls,  there  might 
be  general  ground  for  apprehension  on  the  withdrawal  of  our 
troops  That  also  was  a  thing  one  could  have  hardly  dreamed 
of  a  month  ago  —  German  soldiers  protecting  the  French  from 
communism ! 

After  dinner  I  was  summoned  several  times  to  the  Chief 
to  receive  instructions.  In  Belgium  and  Luxemburg  our 
wounded  were  received  in  an  unfriendly  manner,  and  it  is  sus- 
pected, probably  not  without  reason,  that  ultramontane  influ- 
ence is  at  the  bottom  of  this  conduct.  Favre,  "  who  does  not 
exist  for  us,"  as  the  Chief  declared  to-day,  has  asked,  indirectly 
through  London,  whether  we  arc  disposed  to  grant  an  armis- 
tice and  to  enter  into  negotiations.  Favre  seems  to  consider 
this  question  as  very  pressing.  The  Chancellor,  however,  does 
not. 

When  Bolsing  brought  in  the  despatch  from  Bernstorff, 
stating  that  Lord  Granville  requested  an  early  reply  from 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  to  Favre's  inquiry,  the 
Minister  simply  remarked,  "There  is  no  hurry  to  answer  this 
rubbish." 

After  lo  P.M.  the  Chief  joined  us  at  tea. 

The  conversation  ultimately  turned  on  the  politics  of  recent 
years.  The  Chancellor  said:  "What  I  am  proudest  of,  how- 
ever, is  our  success  in  the  Schleswig-Holstein  affair,  in  which 
the  diplomatic  intrigues  would  furnish  matter  for  a  jViay.  In 
the  first  place,  Austria  could  not  well  have  sided  with  the 
Augustenburger  in  presence  of  her  previous  attitude  as  re- 
corded in  the  proceedings  of  the  Germanic  Diet,  for  which  she 
was  bound  to  show  some  regard.  Then  she  wanted  to  find 
some  tolerable  way  out  of  the  embarrassment  in  which  she  had 
involved  herself  with  the  Congress  of  Princes  at  Frankfort. 
Immediately  after  the  death  of  the  King  of  Denmark  I  ex- 
plained what  I  wanted  in  a  long  sj:)cech  at  a  sitting  of  the 
Council  of  State.  The  official  who  drew  uj)  the  minutes  of  the 
sitting  omitted  the  most  important  part  of  my  speech;  he  must 
have  thought  that  I  had  lunched  too  well  and  would  be  glad 
if  he  left  it  out.  I^ut  I  took  care  that  it  was  again  inserted. 
It  was  difficult,  however,  to  carry  my  idea  into  execution. 
I^vcrvthing   was   agninst    it — Austria,   the    I-^nglish,    th<_-   small 


1870]  BISMARCK   AND  WILLIAM    I.  131 

States  —  both  Liberal  and  anti-Liberal,  the  Opposition  in  the 
Diet,  influential  personages  at  Court,  and  the  majority  of  the 
Press. 

"  Yes,  at  that  time  there  was  some  hard  fighting,  the  hardest 
being  with  the  Court,  and  it  demanded  stronger  nerves  than 
mine.  It  was  about  the  same  at  Baden-Baden  before  the  Con- 
gress at  Frankfort,  when  the  King  of  Saxony  was  in  Baden, 
and  wanted  our  King  to  go  to  that  Assembly.  It  was  literally 
in  the  sweat  of  my  brow  that  I  prevented  him  from  doing  so." 
I  asked  the  Chief,  after  some  further  remarks,  if  the  King  had 
really  wished  to  join  the  other  Princes.  "  He  certainly  did," 
replied  the  Minister,  "and  I  only  succeeded  with  the  utmost 
difficulty  in  preventing  him,  literally  hanging  on  to  his  coat- 
tails."  The  Chief  then  continued  to  the  following  effect:  "His 
Majesty  said  he  could  not  well  do  otherwise  when  a  King  had 
come  to  him  as  a  courier  to  bring  the  invitation.  All  the  women 
were  in  favour  of  his  going,  the  Dowager  Queen,  the  reigning 
Queen,  and  the  Grand  Duchess  of  Baden.  I  declared  to  the 
Dowager  that  I  would  not  remain  Minister  nor  return  to  Berlin 
if  the  King  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded.  She  said  she  was 
very  sorry,  but  if  I  seriously  meant  that,  she  must  surrender  her 
own  view  and  use  her  influence  with  the  King  in  the  other  di- 
rection, although  it  was  greatly  opposed  to  her  own  convictions. 
The  affair  was,  however,  still  made  quite  disagreeable  enough 
for  me.  After  the  King  of  Saxony  and  Beust  had  been  with 
him,  his  Majesty  lay  on  the  sofa  and  had  an  attack  of  hysterical 
weeping;  and  when  at  length  I  had  succeeded  in  wringing  from 
him  the  letter  of  refusal,  I  was  myself  so  weak  and  exhausted 
that  I  could  scarcely  stand.  Indeed,  I  actually  reeled  as  I  left 
the  room,  and  was  so  nervous  and  unhinged  that  in  closing  the 
outer  door  I  tore  off  the  handle.  The  aide-de-camp  asked  me 
if  I  was  unwell.  I  said,  '  No,  I  am  all  right  again  noiv.'  I  told 
Beust,  however,  that  I  would  have  the  regiment  stationed  at 
Rastatt  brought  over  to  guard  the  house,  and  to  prevent  any- 
body else  having  access  to  the  King  in  order  to  put  fresh  pres- 
sure upon  him."  Keudell  also  mentioned  that  the  Minister  had 
intended  to  get  Beust  arrested.  It  was  getting  late  when  the 
Chief  had  finished  his  narrative  of  those  events,  so  he  retired, 
saying:  "Yes,  gentlemen,  a  delicate  nervous  system  has  to  en- 
dure a  good  deal.      I  shall  therefore  be  off  to  bed.     Good  night." 


132  BELGIAN   ANIMOSITY  [Seii.  12 

Monday,  September  \2tJ1.  —  Engaged  writing  various  para- 
graphs till  noon. 

According  to  some  of  the  German  papers  the  Chief  had 
declared  that  in  the  battle  of  Sedan,  Prussia's  allies  fought  best. 
What  he  said,  however,  was  only  that  they  cooperated  in  the 
best  possible  way.  "The  Belgians,"  said  the  Minister,  "dis- 
play such  hatred  towards  us  and  such  warm  attachment  for  the 
French,  that  perhaps  after  all  something  might  be  done  to  sat- 
isfy them.  It  might  at  any  rate  be  well  to  suggest  that  ar- 
rangements even  with  the  present  French  Government  are  not 
entirely  out  of  the  question,  which  would  gratify  Belgian  yearn- 
ings towards  France.  Call  attention,"  added  the  Chief,  "  to 
the  fact  that  the  present  animosity  in  Belgium  is  due  chiefly  to 
ultramontane  agitation." 

The  Bavarian  Count  Luxburg,  who  is  staying  with  Kuhlwet- 
ter,  has  distinguished  himself  by  his  talent  and  zeal.  In  future 
he  is  to  take  part  in  the  consideration  of  all  important  questions. 

A  report  has  been  received  to  the  effect  that  America  has 
offered  her  services  as  a  mediator  between  ourselves  and  the 
new  French  Republic.  This  mediation  will  not  be  declined, 
and  as  a  matter  of  fact  would  be  preferred  to  that  of  any  other 
State.  It  may  be  assumed  that  the  authorities  at  Washington 
are  not  disposed  to  interfere  with  our  necessary  military  opera- 
tions, which  would,  however,  probably  be  the  consequence  of 
such  mediation.  The  Chief  appears  to  have  been  for  a  consid- 
erable time  past  well  disposed  towards  the  Americans,  and  not 
long  ago  it  was  understood  that  he  hoped  to  secure  permission 
to  fit  out  ships  in  the  American  harbours  against  the  French 
navy.  Doubtless  there  is  no  longer  any  probability  of  this 
being  done. 

To  conclude  from  a  communication  which  he  has  forwarded 
to  Carlsruhe,  the  Minister  regards  the  general  situation  as  fol- 
lows:  "  Peace  seems  to  be  still  very  remote,  as  the  Government 
in  Paris  does  not  promise  to  be  permanent.  When  the  proper 
moment  for  negotiations  has  arrived,  the  King  will  summon  his 
allies  to  consider  our  demands.  Our  princij^al  object  is  and 
remains  to  secure  the  South-Western  German  frontier  against 
the  danger  of  a  French  invasion,  to  which  it  has  now  been  sub- 
jected for  centuries.  A  neutral  buffer  State  like  Ik-lgium  or 
.Switzerland  would  not  serve  our  purj)ose,  as  it  would  unques- 


1870]  lllK   GI;RM    ok    IUK   OKEI    KAISKR  liUXDMSS  133 

tionably  join  1^'rance  in  case  of  a  fresh  outbreak  of  war.  Metz 
and  Strasburg,  with  an  adequate  portion  of  surrf)unding  terri- 
tory, must  belong  to  all  Germany,  to  serve  as  a  protective  bar- 
rier against  the  French.  The  partition  of  this  territory  between 
single  States  is  inexpedient.  The  fact  that  this  war  has  been 
waged  in  common  cannot  fail  to  have  exercised  a  healthy  influ- 
ence in  other  respects  on  the  cause  of  German  unity  ;  but  never- 
theless Prussia  will,  as  a  matter  of  course,  after  the  war  as 
before  it,  respect  the  views  of  the  South,  and  avoid  even  the 
suspicion  of  any  kind  of  pressure.  In  this  matter  a  great  deal 
will  depend  upon  the  personal  disposition  and  determination  of 
the  King  of  Bavaria." 

Before  dinner  to-day  Prince  Luitpold  of  Bavaria  had  a  long 
interview  with  the  Chief.  In  the  evening  at  tea  the  Minister, 
referring  to  this  interview,  said :  "  The  Prince  is  certainly  a 
good  fellow,  but  I  rather  doubt  whether  he  understood  the  his- 
torical and  political  statements  which  I  made  to  him  to-day." 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  this  interview  was  the  begin- 
ning of  negotiations  (which  were  several  times  interrupted) 
between  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  and  the  Emperors 
of  Austria  and  Russia,  which  gradually  led  to  an  understand- 
ing and  finally  resulted  in  the  so-called  Drei  Kaiser  Biindniss, 
or  Three  Emperors'  Alliance.  The  object  of  these  "  historical 
and  political  statements  "  was  to  induce  Prince  Luitpold  to  write 
a  letter  to  his  brother-in-law,  the  Archduke  Albrecht,  submit- 
ting certain  views  to  the  personal  consideration  of  the  Emperor 
Francis  Joseph.  This  was  one  of  the  few  ways  in  which  it 
appeared  possible  for  those  considerations  to  reach  the  Em- 
peror's own  ear  in  an  ungarbled  form.  They  were  as  follows : 
The  turn  which  events  have  taken  in  Paris  renders  it  possible 
to  regard  the  present  war  between  Germany  and  France  as  a 
defence  of  monarchical  conservative  principles  against  the  re- 
publican and  socialistic  tenets  adopted  by  the  present  holders 
of  power  in  France.  The  proclamation  of  the  Republic  in  Paris 
has  been  welcomed  with  warm  approval  in  Spain,  and  it  is  to 
be  expected  that  it  will  obtain  a  like  reception  in  Italy.  In 
that  circumstance  lies  the  great  danger  for  those  European 
States  that  are  governed  on  a  monarchical  system.  The  best 
security  for  the  cause  of  order  and  civilisation  against  this  soli- 
darity of  the  revolutionary  and  republican  elements  would  be  a 


134  AN   ANTI-REVOLUTION'ARY    LEAGUE  [Sepi.  13 

closer  union  of  those  countries  which,  like  Germany,  Russia, 
and  Austria,  still  afford  a  firm  support  to  the  monarchical  princi- 
ple. Austria,  however,  can  only  be  included  in  such  an  under- 
standing when  it  is  recognised  in  that  country  that  the  attempts 
hitherto  made  in  the  Cisleithan  half  of  the  monarchy  to  intro- 
duce a  liberal  system  are  based  on  a  mistaken  policy,  as  are 
also  the  national  experiments  in  a  Polish  direction.  The  ap- 
pointment of  Klaczko,  a  Polish  literary  man,  to  a  position  in 
which  he  is  in  close  relations  with  Beust,  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Empire,  whose  policy  and  tendency  are  well  known,  together 
with  the  latest  declarations  of  Klaczko,  must  be  regarded  as 
indications  of  Beust's  own  views  and  intentions.  This  coopera- 
tion with  the  Polish  revolutionists,  together  with  the  hostility  to 
Russia  which  is  manifested  thereby,  is  for  the  Chancellor  of  the 
German  Confederation  a  serious  hindrance  to  good  relations 
with  Austria,  and  must  at  the  same  time  be  regarded  as  an  indi- 
cation of  hostility  to  ourselves.  In  connection  with  the  above 
the  position  of  the  Cisleithan  half  of  the  dual  State  must  be 
taken  into  consideration,  and  the  difficulties  which  it  presents 
cannot  be  overcome  except  by  a  conservative  regime.  It  is 
only  through  the  frank  adoption  of  relations  of  mutual  confi- 
dence towards  united  Germany  and  Russia  that  Austria  can 
find  the  support  which  she  requires  against  revolutionary  and 
centrifugal  forces,  a  support  which  she  has  lost  through  the 
disastrous  policy  of  Count  Beust. 

Prince  Luitpold's  letter  giving  expression  to  these  views 
failed  to  produce  the  desired  result.  It  is  true  that  the  Arch- 
duke Albrecht  submitted  it  to  the  Emperor,  but  he  showed  it 
at  the  same  time  to  Beust.  His  answer,  which  was  inspired 
by  Beust,  was  in  the  main  to  the  effect  that  Austria,  so  long  as 
no  special  political  advantages  were  offered  by  us,  did  not  feel 
any  need  of  support.  If  Prussia,  as  it  would  apj:)car,  regarded 
a  rapprochement  with  Austria  as  desirable  or  requisite,  nothing 
had  been  heard  so  far  as  to  what  she  had  to  offer  in  return  to 
the  dual  monarchy,  whose  interests  were  complex.  The  lun- 
peror  would  gladly  consider  any  suggestions  that  reached  him 
in  a  direct  way. 

The  Tsar  Alexander  was  informed  of  the  attempt  made  in 
Vienna  through  the  Iia\'arian  Prince,  his  attention  being  at  the 
same  time  called  to  the  notorious  undcrstandiiiu'  which  existed 


1870]  GEXIiRAL   VON    DLUMKNTIIAL  I35 

between  the  present  Government  in  Paris  and  the  revolutionary 
propagandists  throughout  Kurope.  The  desirability  of  a  close 
cooperation  of  the  Eastern  Powers  against  this  movement  was 
urged  upon  him  on  the  one  hand,  while  on  the  other  the  neces- 
sity was  pointed  out  for  Germany  to  avoid,  when  concluding 
peace,  anything  which  might  look  like  disregard  for  the  real 
requirements  of  the  country  in  the  matter  of  frontier  prc^tection 
and  security,  and  thus  give  the  German  revolutionary  party  an 
opportunity  of  poisoning  the  public  mind.  The  Tsar  declared 
himself  in  perfect  agreement  with  these  views,  and  expressed  a 
strong  desire  for  the  realisation  of  the  proposed  union  of  the 
monarchical  elements  against  the  revolutionary  movement. 

Subsequently,  after  the  insurrection  of  the  communists  in 
Paris,  the  progress  of  the  International,  upon  which  considera- 
ble stress  was  also  laid  in  the  Press,  was  used  as  a  further  argu- 
ment for  the  combination  of  the  conservative  Powers  against 
the  republican  and  socialistic  propaganda.  This  time  the  repre- 
sentations in  question  met  with  more  success  in  Vienna. 

Tuesday,  Scpteynber  \2)th.  —  In  the  course  of  the  forenoon  I 
was  called  in  to  the  Chancellor  six  times,  and  wrote  as  many 
paragraphs  for  the  Press.  Amongst  them  were  two  for  the 
local  French  papers,  which  also  received  some  information  from 
us  yesterday.  Arrangements  were  made  to  secure  the  insertion 
of  the  portrait  and  biography  of  General  von  Blumenthal  in  the 
illustrated  papers  with  which  we  entertain  friendly  relations,  a 
distinction  which  he  has  well  deserved.  "  So  far  as  one  can 
see,"  said  the  Chief,  "  the  papers  make  no  mention  of  him, 
although  he  is  chief  of  the  staff  to  the  Crown  Prince,  and,  next 
after  Moltke,  deserves  most  credit  for  the  conduct  of  the  v/ar. 

"  I  should  like  a  grant  to  be  made  to  him.  He  won  the 
battles  of  Weissenburg  and  Worth,  and  afterwards  those  of 
Beaumont  and  Sedan,  as  the  Crown  Prince  w^as  not  always 
interfering  with  his  plans,  as  Prince  Frederick  Charles  did  in 
1866.  The  latter  fancied  that  he  understood  a  great  deal  about 
these  matters." 

In  the  evening  the  Count  sent  for  me  once  more.  It  was 
merely  to  show  me  a  telegram,  which  he  handed  to  me  with 
a  smile.  It  was  a  message  from  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar 
to  the  Grand  Duchess,  couched  in  the  style  of  the  King's 
despatches   to   the   Queen,  in  which  the  Duke  reported,  "  My 


136  MR.    (A1-TEK\VAKDS   SIR)    EDWARD  MALET  [Sept.  14 

army  has  fought  very  bravely."  Greatness,  like  murder,  will 
out.  But  still  there  arc  cases  in  which  imitation  had  better  be 
avoided. 

On  the  14th  of  September,  shortly  before  10  o'clock,  we 
started  for  Chateau  Thierry,  and  reached  Meaux  on  the  next  day. 

Before  dinner  we  heard  that  a  parlemejiiaire  had  arrived 
from  Paris,  a  slight  dark-haired  young  gentleman,  who  is  now 
standing  in  the  courtyard  before  the  Chief's  house.  From  his 
language  he  would  appear  to  be  an  Englishman.  In  the  even- 
ing he  has  a  long  conversation  with  the  Chief  over  a  bottle  of 
kirschwasser,  and  turns  out  to  be  Mr.  Edward  Malet,  an  attack^ 
of  the  British  Embassy  in  Paris.  As  I  had  to  pass  through  the 
ante-chamber  I  noticed  the  attendant,  Engel,  with  his  ear  to  the 
keyhole,  curious  to  know  what  they  were  talking  about.  He 
had  brought  a  letter  to  Lord  Lyons  asking  whether  the  Count 
would  enter  into  negotiations  with  Faure  as  to  the  conditions  of 
an  armistice.  The  Chancellor  is  understood  to  have  replied : 
"  As  to  conditions  of  peace,  yes ;  but  not  for  an  armistice."  ^ 

I  see  from  the  letters  of  some  Berlin  friends  that  many  well- 
meaning  and  patriotic  persons  cannot  bring  themselves  to  ac- 
cept the  idea  that  the  conquered  territory  is  not  to  be  annexed 
to  Prussia.  According  to  a  communication  from  Heinrich  von 
Treitschke,  of  P'reiburg,  it  is  feared  that  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
may  be  handed  over  to  Bavaria,  and  that  a  new  dual  system  may 
thus  arise.  In  a  letter  to  the  Chief  he  says  :  "  It  is  obvious  that 
Prussia  alone  is  capable  of  once  more  Germanising  the  Teutonic 
provinces  of  France."  He  refers  to  a  "circumstance  to  which 
too  little  attention  is  paid  in  the  North  —  namely,  that  all  sen- 
sible men  in  South  Germany  desire  to  see  Alsace  handed  over 
to  Prussia ;  "  and  declares  that  "  it  is  a  great  mistake  if  it  is 
thought  in  the  North  that  the  South  must  be  rewarded  by  an 
increase  of  territory  and  population."  I  cannot  imagine  where 
Treitschke  can  have  heard  such  erroneous  views.  So  far  as  I 
am  aware  they  are  held  by  none  of  our  people.  I  fancy  it  is 
thought  here  that  the  South  will  be  sufficiently  rewarded  in 
being  at  length  secured  against  French  lust  of  conquest.  Other 
ideas  of  the  writer  can  only  be  regarded  as  sound  in  certain 
circumstances.  Our  Chief's  plan,  to  which  I  have  previously 
referred,  is  unquestionably  more  just  and  better  adapted  to  the 

'  In  Tirfsenci-  of  later  events  he  can  hardly  have  expressed  himself  in  this  way. 


1S70)  Al.SACK-LORRAlNE    TO    HJRM    A    RKICliSl-ANU  137 

cxi.stin<;  situation  —  namely,  to  make  those  provinces  the  com- 
mon ])roperty  of  all  (jcrmany.  By  taking  that  course  the  con- 
c[uered  territory  would  not  become  an  object  of  envy  and  a  cause 
of  dissatisfaction  to  Prussia's  allies,  but,  on  the  contrary,  would 
serve  as  a  bond  of  union  between  North  and  South. 

I  hear  from  Willisch  that  certain  apprehensions  are  enter- 
tained in  Berlin,  which  are  understood  to  originate  in  the 
entourage  of  the  Queen.  Owing  to  the  anxiety  occasioned  by 
the  blowing-up  of  the  citadel  at  Laon,  objections  are  raised  to 
the  King  entering  Paris,  where,  it  is  apprehended,  something 
might  happen  to  him.  Wrangel  has  telegraphed  in  this  sense 
to  tlic  King,  and  it  is  stated  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  his  Majesty 
is  now  no  longer  inclined  to  go  to  Paris,  and  is  disposed  to  await 
the  further  development  of  affairs  at  Rothschild's  place  in 
Ferrieres,  which  lies  about  half-way  between  Meaux  and  Paris. 

Prince  Hohenlohe  dines  at  our  table,  where  the  Chief  also 
joins  us  after  returning  from  dinner  with  the  King.  We  learn 
that  Reims  will  be  the  administrative  centre  of  the  French 
provinces  occupied  by  our  troops,  with  the  exception  of  Alsace 
and  Lorraine.  The  Grand  Duke  of  Mecklenburg  is  Governor- 
General,  and  will  be  at  the  head  of  the  administration,  and 
Hohenlohe  will  take  a  position  under  him. 

The  Chief  remarked  to  his  cousin,  who  complained  of  not 
feeling  well:  "At  your  age"  (Bohlen  is  now  thirty-eight)  "I 
was  still  as  sound  as  a  bell,  and  could  take  all  sorts  of  liberties 
with  myself.  It  was  at  St.  Petersburg  that  my  health  first 
sprang  a  leak." 

Somebody  turned  the  conversation  on  Paris  and  the  subject 
of  the  French  and  the  Alsacians.  The  Chief  gave  his  views  on 
this  matter  very  fully,  addressing  his  remarks  to  me  at  the 
close,  which  I  took  to  be  a  permission,  or  a  hint,  that  I  should 
either  get  his  words  or  their  purport  into  the  newspapers.  The 
Alsacians  and  the  Germans  of  Lorraine,  he  declared,  supply 
France  with  numbers  of  capable  men,  especially  for  the  army, 
but  they  are  not  held  of  much  account  by  the  French,  and  sel- 
dom attain  to  high  positions  in  the  service  of  the  State,  while 
they  are  laughed  at  by  the  Parisians,  who  make  caricatures  and 
stories  out  of  them,  just  as  the  Irish  are  laughed  at  in  London. 
"  Other  French  provincials  are  treated  in  the  same  way,"  added 
the    Minister,   "if   not    quite    so   badly.     To    a    certain    extent, 


138  RUSSIA   AND   THE  TREATV   OF   PARIS  [Skpt.  17 

France  is  divided  into  two  nations,  the  Parisians  and  the  Pro- 
vincials, and  the  latter  are  the  voluntary  helots  of  the  former. 
The  object  to  be  aimed  at  now  is  the  emancipation,  the  libera- 
tion, of  France  from  Parisian  rule.  When  a  provincial  feels 
that  he  is  capable  of  making  a  future  for  himself  he  comes  to 
Paris,  and  is  there  adopted  into,  and  becomes  one  of,  the  ruling 
caste.  It  is  a  question  whether  we  should  not  oblige  them  to 
take  back  the  Emperor  as  a  punishment.  That  is  still  possible, 
as  the  peasants  do  not  wish  to  be  tyrannised  from  Paris. 
France  is  a  nation  of  ciphers  — a  mere  herd.  The  French  are 
wealthy  and  elegant,  but  they  have  no  individuality,  no  con- 
sciousness as  individuals,  but  only  as  a  mass.  They  are  like 
thirty  million  obedient  Kaffirs,  each  one  of  whom  is  in  himself 
featureless  and  worthless,  not  fit  to  be  compared  with  Russians 
and  Italians,  to  say  nothing  of  ourselves.  It  was  an  easy  task 
to  recruit  out  of  this  impersonal,  invertebrate  mass  a  phalanx 
ready  to  oppress  the  remainder  of  the  country  so  long  as  it  was 
not  united." 

After  dinner  wrote  several  paragraphs  in  accordance  with 
the  Chief's  instructions  and  explanations.  The  subjects  were : 
The  German  friends  of  the  Republic  —  men  like  Jacobi,  the 
socialistic  democrats,  and  others  holding  similar  views  —  will 
not  hear  of  the  annexation  of  French  territory,  being  in  the  first 
place  republicans,  and  only  in  a  secondary  sense,  to  a  certain 
extent,  German.  The  security  afforded  to  Germany  by  the 
seizure  of  Strasburg  and  Metz  is  detestable  to  them,  as  it  is  a 
bulwark  against  the  Republic  which  they  want  to  see  established, 
weakening  their  propaganda,  and  injuring  their  prospects  on  our 
side  of  the  Rhine.  They  i)lace  their  party  higher  than  their 
country.  They  welcomed  the  opposition  to  Napoleon,  because 
he  was  an  opponent  of  their  doctrines,  but  since  he  has  been 
replaced  by  tiie  Republic  they  have  become  Frenchmen  in 
sentiment  and  disposition.  Russia  has  expressed  a  desire  for  a 
revision  of  the  treaty  entered  into  as  the  result  of  her  defeat  in 
the  Crimean  War.  The  alterations  ])roi)osed  in  certain  points  of 
that  instrument  must  be  regarded  as  just.  The  Peace  of  Paris 
includes  conditions  respecting  the  Black  Sea  which  are  unfair, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  a  great  part  of  the  coast  belongs  to 
Russia.     This  must,  h()\vever,  be  cautiously  expressed. 

The  conjecture  that  the  Crown  Prince  is  of  oj)inion  that  the 


1870]  "NO   SENTIMENT    IN    POLITICS"  1 39 

Bavarians  and  Suabians,  if  they  are  not  disposed  willingly  to 
form  part  of  united  Germany,  must  be  compelled  to  do  so,  is 
correct.  He  is  inclined  to  act  on  the  maxim,  Der  Bicn  diuss. 
I  hear  that  at  Donchery,  or  near  that  town,  he  had  a  long  con- 
versation on  the  subject  with  the  Chancellor,  who  declared  him- 
self strongly  against  this  idea. 

Saturday,  September  ijth.  —  I  did  a  good  deal  of  work  this 
morning  and  afternoon  from  instructions  received  yesterday. 
Amongst  other  things,  I  embodied  in  an  article  the  following 
ideas,  which  are  very  characteristic  of  the  Chancellor's  manner 
of  thinking:  — 

"The  morning  edition  of  the  National  Zeitnngol  September 
nth  contains  a  paragraph  entitled  'From  Wilhelmshohe,'  in 
which  the  writer,  after  lamenting  the  considerate  treatment  of 
the  Prisoner  of  Sedan,  falls  into  further  errors.  Nemesis  should 
have  shown  no  indulgence  towards  the  man  of  December  2nd, 
the  author  of  the  laws  of  public  safety,  the  prime  mover  in  the 
Mexican  tragedy,  and  the  instigator  of  the  present  terrible  war. 
The  victor  has  been  'far  too  chivalrous.'  That  is  the  way  in 
which  the  matter  is  regarded  by  '  public  opinion,'  as  endorsed 
apparently  by  the  writer.  We  do  not  in  any  way  share  those 
views.  Public  opinion  is  only  too  much  disposed  to  treat  politi- 
cal relations  and  events  from  the  standpoint  of  private  morals, 
and,  amongst  other  things,  to  demand  that  in  international  con- 
flicts the  victor,  guided  by  the  moral  code,  should  sit  in  judg- 
ment upon  the  vanquished,  and  impose  penalties  not  only  for 
the  transgressions  of  the  latter  towards  himself,  but  also,  if 
possible,  towards  others.  Such  a  demand  is  entirely  unjustifi- 
able. To  advance  it  shows  an  utter  misapprehension  of  the 
nature  of  political  affairs,  with  which  the  conceptions  of  punish- 
ment, reward,  and  revenge  have  nothing  in  common.  To  accede 
to  it  would  be  to  pervert  the  whole  character  of  politics.  Politics 
must  leave  to  Divine  Providence  and  to  the  God  of  Battles 
the  punishment  of  princes  and  peoples  for  breaches  of  the 
moral  law.  The  statesman  has  neither  the  authority  nor  the 
obligation  to  assume  the  office  of  judge.  In  all  circumstances 
the  sole  question  he  has  to  consider  is  what,  under  the  conditions 
given,  is  to  the  advantage  of  the  country,  and  how  that  advan- 
tage is  to  be  best  secured.  The  kindlier  affections  have  as  little 
place  in  the  calculations  of  politics  as  they  have  in  those  of  trade. 


I40  E:XPKDIENCV   the   sole  guide  [Sei-t.  i8 

It  is  not  the  business  of  politics  to  seek  vengeance  for  what  has 
been  clone,  but  to  take  precautions  that  it  shall  not  be  done 
again.  Applying  these  principles  to  our  case,  and  to  our  con- 
duct towards  the  vanquished  and  imprisoned  Emperor  of  the 
French,  we  take  the  liberty  to  ask  by  what  right  are  we  to 
punish  him  for  the  2nd  of  December,  the  law  of  public  safety, 
and  the  occurrences  in  Mexico,  however  much  we  may  dis- 
approve of  those  acts  ?  Political  principles  do  not  even  permit 
us  to  think  of  taking  revenge  for  the  present  war,  of  which  he 
was  the  author.  Were  we  to  entertain  such  an  idea,  then  it  is 
not  alone  on  Napoleon  but  almost  on  every  single  Frenchman 
that  we  should  wreak  the  Blucher-like  vengeance  mentioned  by 
the  National  Zcitmig ;  for  the  whole  of  France,  with  her  thirty- 
five  million  inhabitants,  showed  just  as  much  approval  of,  and 
enthusiasm  for,  this  war  as  for  the  Mexican  expedition.  Ger- 
many has  simply  to  ask  herself  the  further  question,  which  is 
more  advantageous  in  the  present  circumstances,  to  treat  Napo- 
leon well  or  ill }  And  that,  we  believe,  is  not  difficult  to  answer. 
Upon  the  same  principles  we  also  acted  in  1866.  If  certain  of 
the  measures  taken  in  that  year  and  certain  provisions  in  the 
Treaty  of  Prague  could  be  regarded  as  acts  of  revenge  for 
former  affronts,  and  punishments  for  the  offences  that  led  to 
the  war  in  question,  the  parties  affected  by  those  measures  and 
conditions  were  not  exactly  those  who  had  deserved  the  severest 
punishment  or  had  done  most  to  excite  a  desire  for  vengeance. 
Herr  von  Beust's  Saxony  suffered  no  reduction  of  territory  in 
consequence  of  that  crisis,  and  Austria  just  as  little."  This 
last  sentence,  which  appeared  literally  as  it  now  stands  in  the 
Chief's  instructions,  was  afterwards  struck  out  by  him.  He 
remarked  with  a  smile,  "  It  is  better  not  to  mention  names." 

Sunday,  September  \d>t/i.  —  Early  in  the  day  wrote  para- 
graphs for  Berlin,  Hagenau,  and  Reim.s,  dealing,  inter  alia,  with 
Favre's  declaration  that  "  La  Republique  c'est  la  paix."  It  was 
in  the  main  to  the  following  effect.  During  the  last  forty  years 
France  has  always  declared  herself  in  favour  of  peace  in  every 
form,  and  hns  invariably  acted  in  an  entirely  contrary  spirit. 
Twenty  years  ago  the  I{mi)ire  declared  peace  to  be  its  ideal, 
and  now  the  Republic  does  the  same.  In  1829  Legitimacy 
made  a  similar  declaration,  and  at  the  same  time  a  Franco- 
Russian    alliance  was    concluded  with   the  object  of    attacking 


1S70]  DUCROl'S    '•  INFAMOUS"    ESCArE  I4I 

Germany  ;  and  the  execution  of  that  plan  was  only  prevented 
by  the  Revolution  of  1830.  It  is  also  known  that  the  "  j)eaceful  " 
administration  of  the  "Citizen  King"  desired  to  seize  the  Rhine 
in  1840;  and  it  will  be  remembered  that  under  the  Empire 
France  has  conducted  more  wars  than  under  any  other  form  of 
government.  These  facts  show  what  we  have  to  expect  from 
M.  Favre's  assurances  respecting  his  Republic.  Germany  has 
one  answer  to  all  these  representations,  namely,  "  La  r>ancc 
c'cst  la  guerre !  "  and  will  act  in  accordance  with  that  convic- 
tion in  demanding  the  cession  of  Metz  and  Strasburg. 

The  Minister  joined  us  at  lunch  to-day,  at  which  two  dragoon 
guardsmen  were  also  present.  Both  wore  the  Iron  Cross. 
One  of  them.  Lieutenant  Philip  von  Bismarck,  was  the  Chan- 
cellor's nephew,  an  official  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Judicature 
in  times  of  peace.  The  Chief  asked  him  whether  the  Prince  of 
Hohenzollern,  who  was  attached  to  the  Lieutenant's  regiment, 
was  "  also  a  soldier,  or  merely  a  Prince  .-* "  The  answer  was 
favourable.  The  Minister  replied :  "  I  am  glad  of  that.  The 
fact  of  his  having  announced  his  election  as  King  of  Spain  to 
his  superior  officer,  in  accordance  with  the  regulations,  impressed 
me  in  his  favour." 

The  conversation  turned  upon  the  cost  of  maintaining  Na- 
poleon at  Wilhelmshohe,  which  is  stated  to  be  something 
enormous.  On  this  the  Chief  remarked:  "It  is  at  the  Queen's 
instance  that  Napoleon  has  been  allowed  to  maintain  a  Court  at 
the  King's  expense.  His  Majesty  had  only  proposed  to  give 
him  one  domestic  who  was  to  keep  watch  over  him.  But  he 
himself  observed  to  me  that  women  are  always  addicted  to 
extravagance." 

Mention  was  made  of  General  Ducrot,  who  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Sedan,  and  who,  being  allowed  greater  liberty  on 
pledging  his  word  not  to  escape,  disgraced  himself  by  abscond- 
ing on  the  way  to  Germany.  The  Chief  remarked :  "  When 
one  catches  scoundrels  of  that  kind  who  have  broken  their 
word  (of  course,  I  don't  blame  those  who  get  away  without  it), 
they  ought  to  be  strung  up  in  their  red  breeches  with  the  word 
Parjurc  written  on  one  leg,  and  Infdvic  on  the  other.  In  the 
meantime  that  must  be  put  in  its  proper  light  in  the  press. 
The  fellow  must  be  shown  up."  The  barbarous  manner  in 
which  the  French  were  conductins:  the  v/nr  havinr;;  been  again 


142  SOUTH   GERMANY  [Sept.  19,  1870 

referred  to,  the  Minister  said  :  "  If  you  peel  the  white  hide  off 
that  sort  of  Gaul  you  will  find  a  Turco  under  it." 

Added  later.  —  Von  Suckow,  the  Wurtemberg  Minister  of 
War,  has  been  a  considerable  time  with  the  Chief  to-day,  and  it 
is  understood  that  the  German  cause  is  making  excellent  prog- 
ress amongst  the  Suabians.  Things  appear  to  be  going  less 
well  in  Bavaria,  where  the  Minister,  Bray,  seems  to  be  as 
hostile  to  the  national  cause  as  he  well  can  be  in  the  present 
circumstances. 

]\Ionday,  September  \<^th. — It  is  said  to  be  certain  that  Favre 
will  arrive  here  to-day  at  noon  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating 
with  the  Chief.  He  will  have  fine  weather  for  his  business. 
About  10  o'clock  Count  Bismarck-l^ohlen  comes  from  the 
Chief.  We  are  to  start  immediately  for  the  Chateau  of  Fer- 
rieres,  four  or  five  hours'  journey  from  here.  So  we  pack  up 
in  all  haste. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

BISMARCK    AND    FAVRE    AT    HAUTE-MAISON A    FORTNIGHT    IN 

ROJ'IISCHILO'S    CHATEAU 

Jules  Favre  not  having  arrived  up  to  midday  on  the  19th 
of  September,  our  party  started.  The  Minister,  however,  left  a 
letter  for  Favre  at  the  Mairie,  and  told  a  servant  to  mention  the 
fact  to  him  in  case  he  came.  The  Chief  and  the  Councillors 
rode  on  ahead  of  the  carriages,  of  which  I  had  one  entirely  to 
myself.  We  first  passed  by  the  residence  of  the  King,  who 
was  quartered  in  a  handsome  chateau  on  the  Promenade ;  and 
between  the  villages  of  Mareuil  and  Montry  we  met  a  two-horse 
hackney,  in  which  a  Prussian  officer  sat  with  three  civilians. 
One  of  the  latter  was  an  elderly  gentleman  with  a  grey  beard 
and  a  protruding  under  lip.  "That's  Favre,"  I  said  to  Kriiger, 
the  Chancery  attendant  who  sat  behind  me.  "  Where  is  the 
Minister .''  "  He  was  not  to  be  seen  but  had  probably  gone  on 
before  us,  and  the  long  train  of  conveyances  cut  off  our  view  in 
front.  We  drove  on  rapidly,  and  after  a  while  I  met  the  Chief 
and  Keudell  riding  back  in  the  opposite  direction. 

"  Favre  has  driven  by,  Excellency,"  I  said. 

"  I  know,"  he  replied,  smiling,  and  trotted  on. 

Next  day  Count  Hatzfeld  gave  us  some  particulars  of  the 
meeting  between  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  and  the 
Parisian  lawyer  now  one  of  the  rulers  of  France.  The  Minister, 
Count  Hatzfeld,  and  Keudell  were  half  an  hour  ahead  of  us 
when  HofratJi  Taglioni,  who  drove  with  the  King's  suite,  told 
them  that  Favre  had  passed  by.  He  had  come  by  another 
route  and  had  only  reached  its  junction  with  our  road  after  the 
Chief  had  ridden  by.  The  Minister  was  very  angry  at  not 
having  been  sooner  informed  of  this.  Hatzfeld  galloped  after 
Favre,  with  whom  he  returned,  finally  meeting  the  Chief  at 
Montry.  Here  the  attention  of  the  Minister  was  called  to  the 
little  chateau  of  Haute-Maison,  situated  on  a  height  some  ten 
minutes  from  the  village,  as  a  suitable  place  for  the  interview 

143 


144  FAVRE'S   VISIT   TO   FERRIEKES  [Seit.  20 

with  the  Frenchman.  There  the  party  found  two  Wiirtemberg 
dragoons,  one  of  whom  was  instructed  to  take  his  carbine  and 
mount  guard  before  the  house.  They  also  met  there  a  French 
peasant,  who  looked  as  if  he  had  just  received  a  good  thrashing. 
While  our  people  were  asking  this  man  whether  it  was  possible 
to  get  anything  to  eat  or  drink,  Favre,  who  had  gone  into  the 
house  with  the  Chancellor,  came  out  for  a  moment  and  ad- 
dressed his  countryman  in  a  speech  full  of  pathos  and  noble 
sentiments.  Disorderly  attacks  had  been  made,  he  said,  which 
must  be  stopped.  He,  Favre,  was  not  a  spy  but  on  the  con- 
trary a  member  of  the  new  government  which  had  undertaken 
to  defend  the  interests  of  the  country  and  which  represented  its 
dignity.  In  the  name  of  international  law  and  of  the  honour  of 
France  he  called  upon  him  to  keep  watch  and  to  see  that  the 
place  was  held  sacred.  That  was  imperatively  demanded  by 
his,  the  statesman's,  honour,  as  well  as  by  that  of  the  peasant, 
and  so  forth.  The  honest  rustic  looked  particularly  silly  as  he 
listened  open-mouthed  to  all  this  high  falutin,  which  he  evi- 
dently understood  as  little  as  if  it  were  so  much  Greek.  Keudcll 
remarked,  "  If  this  is  the  individual  who  is  to  preserve  us  from  a 
surprise,  I  for  my  part  prefer  to  trust  to  the  sentry." 

On  the  same  evening  I  learnt  from  another  source  that 
lodgings  had  been  taken  for  Favre  in  the  village  near  the 
Chateau  of  Ferrieres,  as  he  desired  to  have  a  further  con- 
ference with  the  Chief.  He  was  accompanied  by  MM.  Rink 
and  Hell,  formerly  Secretaries  of  Embassy  under  Benedctti, 
and  Prince  l^iron.  Keudell  said,  "As  the  Chancellor  left  the 
room  where  his  interview  with  Favre  had  taken  place,  he  asked 
the  dragoon  who  was  on  guard  before  the  door  whence  he 
came.  The  man  replied,  'From  Schwabisch-Hall.'  'WVIl, 
then,  you  may  be  proud,'  he  continued,  '  of  having  stood  guard 
over  the  first  negf)tiation  for  peace  in  this  war.'  " 

In  the  meantime  the  remainder  of  us  had  a  long  wait  at 
Cheffy  for  the  return  of  the  Chancellor,  and  then  — ■  probably 
with  his  permission  —  drove  on  to  Ferrieres,  which  we  reached 
in  about  two  hours.  On  the  way  we  j)assed  along  the  edge  of 
the  zone  which  the  French  had  designedly  laid  waste  all  round 
Paris.  Here  the  destruction  was  not  ycry  marked,  but  the  poj)- 
ulation  of  the  villages  seemed  to  have  been  in  great  ])art  driven 
awav  h^-  the  Gardes  Mo!)ilcs. 


1870J  "ARMCHAIR   STRATEGISTS"  I45 

At  length,  just  as  it  began  to  grow  dark,  we  entered  the 
village  of  Ferri^res,  and  shortly  afterwards  Rothschild's  estate. 
The  King  and  the  first  section  of  his  suite  took  up  their  quarters 
for  a  considerable  time  in  this  chateau.  The  Minister  was  to 
lodge  in  the  last  three  rooms  on  the  first  floor  of  the  right  wing, 
looking  out  on  the  meadows  and  the  park.  A  large  drawing- 
room  on  the  ground  floor  was  selected  for  the  bureau,  and  a 
smaller  one  of  the  same  corridor  as  a  breakfast  and  dining- 
room.  Baron  Rothschild  was  in  Paris,  and  only  left  behind 
him  three  or  four  female  domestics  and  a  housekeeper,  who 
gave  himself  great  airs  of  importance. 

It  was  already  dark  when  the  Chief  arrived,  and  shortly 
after  we  sat  down  to  dinner.  While  we  were  still  at  table  a 
message  was  received  from  Favre,  asking  when  he  could  come 
to  continue  the  negotiations.  He  had  a  conference  tetc-a-tcte 
with  the  Chancellor  in  our  bureau  from  9.30  p.m.  until  after  11. 
On  leaving  he  looked  distressed,  crestfallen,  almost  in  despair 
—  my  diary  remarks  that  possibly  this  expression  was  assumed 
with  the  object  of  impressing  the  Minister. 

In  connection  with  the  news  that  the  King  has  gone  to 
Clayes  in  order  to  prevent  an  attack  being  made  by  our  troops, 
the  Chief,  in  the  course  of  conversation  at  dinner,  said,  amongst 
other  things,  that  "  many  of  our  generals  have  abused  the  de- 
votion of  the  troops  in  order  to  secure  victory."  "Possibly,"  he 
added,  "  the  hard-hearted  reprobates  of  the  general  staff  are 
right  when  they  say  that  even  if  the  whole  five  hundred  thou- 
sand men  whom  we  have  now  in  France  were  to  be  wiped  out, 
that  should  merely  be  regarded  as  the  loss  of  so  many  pawns,  so 
long  as  we  ultimately  won  the  game.  It  is  very  simple  strategy, 
however,  to  plunge  in  head  foremost  in  that  way  without  count- 
ing the  cost.  Altogether,  those  who  conduct  the  operations  are 
often  not  worth  much — armchair  strategists.  A  plan  is  pre- 
pared in  which  the  whole  calculation  is  based  first  of  all  upon 
the  extraordinary  qualities  of  both  soldiers  and  regimental  of- 
ficers. It  is  these  who  alone  have  achieved  everything.  Our 
success  is  due  to  the  fact  that  our  soldiers  are  physically  stronger 
than  the  French,  that  they  can  march  better,  have  more  pa- 
tience and  sense  of  duty,  and  are  more  impetuous  in  attack.  If 
MacMahon  had  commanded  Prussian  soldiers  and  Alvensleben 
Frenchmen,  the  latter  would  have  been  defeated  —  although  he 

VOL.  I.  —  L 


146  ROTHSCHILD'S   "HOSPITALITY"  [Seff,  21 

is  my  friend."  "It  is  no  longer  possible,  as  it  was  in  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  to  direct  a  battle  from  the  saddle  —  the  armies  are 
too  large.  There  is  also  no  genuine  cooperation  and  mutual 
assistance.  Battles  begin  usually  like  those  described  by  Homer. 
Some  of  the  men  commence  with  small  provocations,  and  go  on 
taunting  each  other,  then  they  begin  to  shoot ;  the  others  see 
this  and  rush  forward,  and  so  finally  the  engagement  becomes 
general."  "  The  plan  of  surrounding  the  enemy  is  the  right 
one,  and  properly  speaking  that  was  only  adopted  at  Sedan. 
The  engagement  of  the  i6th  at  Metz  was  quite  correct,  as  it 
was  necessary  there  at  any  cost  to  prevent  the  French  from 
escaping.  The  sacrifice  of  the  guards  on  the  i8th,  however,  was 
not  necessary.  It  was  a  piece  of  pure  folly,  occasioned  by 
jealousy  of  the  Saxons.  They  ought  to  have  waited  at  Saint 
Privat  until  the  Saxons  had  completed  their  manoeuvre  for 
cutting  off  the  enemy." 

Keudell  and  Bohlen  afterwards  ascribed  this  unfavourable 
criticism  to  a  quarrel  which  the  Chief  had  had  with  Moltke  at 
Reims. 

While  still  at  table  we  had  a  specimen  of  the  hospitality 
and  gentlemanly  feeling  of  the  Baron,  whose  house  is  honoured 
by  the  presence  of  the  King,  and  whose  property  has,  in  con- 
sequence, been  treated  with  every  consideration.  M.  de  Roths- 
child, the  hundredfold  millionaire,  who,  moreover,  was,  until 
recently,  the  Prussian  Consul  General  in  Paris,  has  declined, 
through  his  housekeeper,  to  let  us  have  the  wine  we  require, 
although  I  informed  that  functionary  that  it  would  be  paid  for, 
just  as  everything  else  was.  When  summoned  before  the  Chief, 
he  had  the  audacity  to  persist  in  his  refusal,  first  denying  abso- 
lutely that  there  was  any  wine  in  the  house,  and  afterwards 
admitting  that  there  were  a  few  hundred  bottles  of  a  common 
Bordeaux.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  were  some  seventeen 
thousand  bottles.  The  Minister,  however,  explained  the  situa- 
tion to  him  in  a  few  sharp  words,  pointing  out  how  niggardly 
and  discourteous  it  was  of  his  master  to  requite  the  King  in 
such  manner  for  the  honour  done  to  him  in  taking  up  his  quar- 
ters there.  As  the  fellow  still  seemed  obstinate,  the  Chancellor 
asked  him  sternly  if  he  knew  what  a  bundle  of  straw  was.  The 
nian  made  no  answer,  but  seemed  to  suspect  what  it  meant,  as 
he  became    deadly   pale.      He  was   then   informed  that  it  v.us 


1870]  THE   FUTURE   OF   FRANCE  I47 

a  contrivance  on  which  obstinate  and  impudent  housekeepers 
were  laid  face  downwards  —  he  could  imagine  the  rest  for 
himself.  Next  day  we  got  everything  that  we  required,  and 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  there  was  no  further  cause  of  complaint. 

Next  morning  the  Chief  came  into  the  cJiainbrc  dc  chasse  of 
the  chateau,  which  we  occupied  as  our  bureau.  Turning  over 
the  game  book  which  lay  on  the  table  he  pointed  out  the  entry 
for  the  3rd  of  November,  1856,  which  showed  that  he  himself, 
with  Galiffet  and  other  guests,  had  that  day  shot  forty-two  head 
of  game  —  fourteen  hares,  one  rabbit,  and  twenty-seven  pheas- 
ants. He  is  now  engaged  with  Moltke  and  others  in  chasing 
a  nobler  quarry  —  the  bear  to  which  he  referred  at  Grand  Pr6. 

At  1 1  o'clock  the  Chief  had  his  third  meeting  with  Favre, 
after  which  followed  a  conference  with  the  King,  at  which 
Moltke  and  Roon  were  also  present. 

In  the  evening  I  was  called  to  the  Chief,  who  had  not 
appeared  at  table,  and  who,  it  was  understood,  did  not  feel 
quite  Avell.  A  narrow  stone  winding  stair,  which  was  distin- 
guished with  the  title,  "  Escalier  particulier  de  M.  le  Baron," 
led  to  a  very  elegantly  furnished  room,  where  I  found  the 
Chancellor  sitting  on  the  sofa  in  his  dressing  gown. 

Wednesday,  September  2\st.  —  As  the  Chief  had  recovered 
from  his  indisposition,  we  had  plenty  to  do,  and  though  most  of 
it  cannot  be  made  public,  I  am  now  at  liberty  to  quote  the  fol- 
lowing passage  from  my  diary  :  — 

"  The  imperial  emigrants  in  London  have  established  an 
organ,  La  Situation,  to  represent  their  interests.  Its  contents 
are  to  be  reproduced  in  the  newspapers  we  have  founded  in  the 
eastern  districts  of  France,  but  the  sources  are  to  be  so  indi- 
cated as  not  to  identify  us  with  the  views  therein  expressed  : 
i.e.,  it  must  be  understood  that  we  are  not  endeavouring  to  pro- 
mote the  restoration  of  the  Emperor.  Our  object  is  merely  to 
maintain  the  sense  of  insecurity  and  discord  between  the  vari- 
ous French  parties,  which  are  all  equally  hostile  to  us.  The 
retention  of  the  imperial  symbols  and  formulas  in  despatches 
will  prove  of  service  in  this  respect ;  otherwise  Napoleon  or 
a  Republic  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  us.  We  merely  de- 
sire to  utilise  the  existing  chaos  in  France.  The  future  of 
that  country  does  not  concern  us.  It  is  the  business  of  the 
French  themselves  to  shape  it  as  best  they  can.     It  is  only  of 


148  FAVRE   SHEDS  TEAKS  ISilvt.  22 

importance  to  us  in  so  far  as  it  affects  our  own  interests,  the 
furtherance  of  which  must  be  the  guiding  principle  in  politics 
generally."  Under  instructions  from  the  Chief  I  telegraphed 
in  the  above  sense  to  the  principal  officials  at  Nancy  and 
Hagenau. 

At  tea  some  further  particulars  were  given  of  the  last  con- 
ference between  the  Chancellor  and  Jules  Favre.  Favre  was, 
it  seems,  informed  that  we  could  not  communicate  to  him  the 
exact  conditions  of  peace  until  they  had  been  settled  at  a  con- 
ference of  the  German  Powers  engaged  in  the  war.  No  ar- 
rangement could  be  come  to,  however,  without  a  cession  of 
territory,  as  it  was  absolutely  essential  to  us  to  have  a  better 
frontier  as  security  against  French  attack.  The  conference 
turned  less  upon  peace  and  its  conditions  than  on  the  nature  of 
French  concessions,  in  consideration  of  which  we  might  agree 
to  an  armistice.  On  the  mention  of  a  cession  of  territory  Favre 
became  terribly  excited,  drew  a  deep  sigh,  raised  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  even  shed  some  patriotic  tears.  The  Chief  does 
not  expect  that  he  will  return.  Doubtless  an  answer  in  this 
sense  has  been  forwarded  to  the  Crown  Prince,  who  tele- 
graphed this  morning  to  ask  whether  he  should  attend  the 
negotiations. 

Thursday,  September  22}td,  evening. — The  French  are  inde- 
fatigable in  denouncing  us  to  the  world  as  cruel  and  destructive 
barbarians;  and  the  English  press  —  particularly  the  Standard, 
which  is  notoriously  hostile  to  us  —  willingly  lends  them  its 
assistance.  The  grossest  calumnies  respecting  our  conduct  tow- 
ards the  French  population  and  the  prisoners  in  our  hands  are 
circulated  almost  daily  by  that  newspaper,  and  always  purjwrt 
to  come  cither  from  eye-witnesses  or  other  well-informed  sources. 
Thus,  for  instance,  the  Due  de  Fitzjames  recently  drew  a  hor- 
rible picture  of  the  abominations  of  which  we  had  been  guilty 
in  Bazeillcs,  adding  the  assurance  that  he  exaggerated  nothing; 
and  a  M.  L.,  who  represents  himself  to  be  a  French  officer 
whom  we  had  captured  at  Sedan  and  subjected  to  ill-treatment, 
complains  in  a  lamentable  tone  of  Prussian  inhumanity.  Bern- 
storff  sent  the  article  in  question  to  the  Chief,  with  the  sugges- 
tion that  the  charges  should  be  refuted.  The  complaint  of  M. 
L.  might,  perhaps,  be  left  to  answer  itself,  but  that  of  the  Duke 
is  calculated  to  affect  even  those  across  the  Channel  who  are 


1870 J  TIIK   TRUrU    AIJOUT    HAZKII.LES  I49 

disposed  in  our  favour.  Besides,  impudent  calumny  is  always 
apt  to  leave  some  traces  behind  it.  A  refutal  of  these  shameful 
slanders  is  accordingly  being  despatched  to-day  to  certain  Lon- 
don newspapers  that  are  friendly  to  us.  As  the  greater  part  of 
this  communication  was  dictated  by  the  Chief,  it  is  worthy  of 
special  attention. 

"  In  this  war,  as  in  every  other,  a  great  number  of  villages 
have  been  burned  down,  mostly  by  artillery  fire,  German  as 
well  as  French.  In  these  cases  women  and  children  who  had 
sought  refuge  in  the  cellars  and  had  not  escaped  in  time  lost 
their  lives  in  the  flames.  That  was  also  the  case  in  Bazeilles, 
which  was  several  times  stormed  by  our  infantry.  The  Due 
de  Fitzjames  is  only  an  eye-witness  so  far  as  the  ruins  of  the 
village  are  concerned,  which  he  saw  after  the  battle,  just  as 
thousands  more  saw  and  regretted  its  fate.  All  the  rest  of  his 
report  is  based  on  the  stories  of  the  unfortunate  and  exasper- 
ated villagers.  In  a  country  where  even  the  Government  has 
developed  an  unexampled  talent  for  systematic  lying,  it  is  not 
to  be  expected  that  angry  peasants,  standing  on  the  ruins  of 
their  homes,  would  bear  truthful  witness  against  their  enemies. 
It  is  established  by  official  reports  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Bazeilles,  not  in  uniform  but  in  their  blouses  and  shirt-sleeves, 
fired  out  of  their  windows  at  our  troops  and  wounded  soldiers, 
and  that  they  killed  whole  batches  of  the  latter  in  their 
houses.  It  has  been  likewise  proved  that  women  armed  with 
knives  and  guns  were  guilty  of  the  greatest  cruelty  towards 
the  fatally  wounded,  and  that  other  women,  certainly  not  in  the 
uniform  of  the  National  Guards,  took  part  in  the  fight  with  the 
male  inhabitants,  loading  their  rifles  and  even  firing  themselves, 
and  that,  like  the  other  combatants,  some  of  them  were  in  these 
circumstances  wounded  or  killed.  Naturally  these  particulars 
were  not  communicated  to  the  Due  de  Fitzjames  by  his  in- 
formant. They  would  have  fully  excused  the  burning  of  the 
village  even  if  it  had  been  done  intentionally  with  the  object  of 
forcing  the  enemy  out  of  that  position.  But  there  is  no  evidence 
of  any  such  intention.  That  women  and  children  were  driven 
back  into  the  lire  is  one  of  those  infamous  lies  with  which  the 
French  terrorise  the  population,  and  incite  their  hatred  against 
us.  In  this  way  they  cause  the  peasants  to  fly  on  our  approach. 
The    latter    return,  however,  as  a  rule,  a  few  days   after   the 


1 50  FRENCH    FALSEHOODS  [Sept.  22 

entrance  of  the  Germans,  and  are  astounded  to  find  that  they 
are  better  treated  by  them  than  by  the  French  troops.  When 
this  sort  of  terrorism  is  not  sufficient  to  force  the  inhabitants 
to  flight,  the  Government  sends  a  mob  of  armed  civiHans,  some- 
times supported  by  African  troops,  to  drive  the  peasants  from 
their  homes  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  and  to  burn  down  their 
houses  as  a  punishment  for  their  want  of  patriotism.  The 
letter  of  "  an  imprisoned  officer "  (Bouillon,  September  9th) 
also  contains  more  falsehood  than  truth.  With  respQct  to  the 
treatment  of  the  prisoners,  Germany  can  call  150,000  better 
witnesses  than  this  anonymous  and  mendacious  officer,  whose 
whole  communication  is  merely  an  expression  of  the  vindictive 
disposition  which  will  for  a  long  time  to  come  inspire  the  vain 
and  arrogant  elements  of  the  French  people,  by  whom,  un- 
fortunately, that  country  allows  itself  to  be  ruled  and  led. 
From  this  spirit  of  revenge  arises  the  certainty  of  further 
attacks  on  the  part  of  France,  for  which  Germany  must  be  pre- 
pared. We  are  thus  unquestionably  compelled  to  think  solely 
of  the  security  of  our  frontier  in  concluding  peace.  It  is  true, 
as  stated  in  the  letter  of  this  imprisoned  officer,  M.  L.,  that 
there  was  a  scarcity  of  provisions  after  the  surrender  of  Sedan, 
not  only  for  the  prisoners,  but  also  for  the  victors,  who  shared 
with  them  what  they  had.  When  their  own  stock  was  ex- 
hausted, the  prisoners  also  had  to  do  without.  L.'s  complaint 
that  he  had  been  obliged  to  bivouac  in  the  rain  and  mud  fur- 
nishes the  best  evidence  that  he  is  no  officer,  and  has  not  even 
followed  the  campaign  up  to  that  point.  He  is  some  hireling 
scribe  who  has  never  left  his  own  room,  and  one  must  therefore 
assume  that  the  man's  whole  story  of  his  imprisonment  is  an 
invention ;  as  had  he  been  an  officer  in  the  field,  he  would 
have  known  that  most  of  his  comrades  (that  is  certainly  the 
case  with  the  Germans)  have  spent  at  least  thirty  nights  out 
of  the  forty  or  so  that  have  elapsed  since  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  under  similar  conditions.  When  it  rained  in  the  night  they 
had  to  lie  in  the  rain,  and  when  the  ground  was  muddy  they 
had  to  lie  in  the  mud.  Only  one  who  had  not  followed  the 
campaign  could  have  any  doubt  or  manifest  any  surprise  on 
that  score.  That  M.  L.  prides  himself  on  having  retained  his 
leather  purse  is  the  clearest  proof  that  he  was  not  plundered. 
There  can    hardly  be  a  sinL';]c   soldier  who,  if    he    happens   to 


1870]  now    THE    FRENCH   TREAT  THEIR    PRISONERS  151 

have  money,  does  not  carry  it  just  as  M.  L.  carried  his,  and  in 
just  such  a  purse  ;  so  that  if  our  men  had  wanted  his  money, 
they  must  have  known  very  well  where  to  find  it.  The  few 
Germans  who  fell  into  French  hands  can  tell  how  quickly  their 
opponents  could  open  a  prisoner's  tunic,  and  if  his  purse  was  a 
little  too  firmly  fastened  on,  hack  it  off  with  their  sabres  or  a 
knife,  without  paying  too  much  regard  to  his  skin.  Wc  declare 
the  assertions  respecting  the  ill-treatment  of  prisoners  at  Sedan 
to  be  wilful  and  audacious  lies.  A  great  number  of  the  French 
prisoners,  perhaps  one-fourth,  were  in  a  state  of  bestial  drunk- 
enness, having  during  the  last  few  hours  before  the  capitulation 
plundered  the  wine  and  brandy  stores  in  the  town.  It  is  obvi- 
ous that  it  is  not  so  easy  to  manage  men  in  a  state  of  drunken- 
ness as  when  they  are  sober,  but  such  ill-treatment  as  the  article 
describes  occurred  neither  at  Sedan  nor  elsewhere,  owing  to  the 
discipline  which  prevails  amongst  the  Prussian  troops.  It  is 
well  known  that  this  discipline  has  won  the  admiration  of  the 
French  officers  themselves.  Unfortunately  one  cannot  speak 
as  highly  of  the  French  soldiers  in  this  respect  as  with  regard 
to  their  gallantry  in  action.  The  French  officers  have  on  sev- 
eral occasions  been  unable  to  prevent  their  men  from  murder- 
ing severely  wounded  soldiers,  even  when  individual  officers  of 
high  rank  endeavoured  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives  to  defend 
the  wounded,  and  that  was  not  merely  the  case  with  African 
regiments.  It  is  known  that  the  German  prisoners  who  were 
taken  into  Metz  were  spat  upon  and  struck  with  sticks  and 
stones  on  their  way  through  the  streets,  and  on  their  release 
had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  a  double  line  of  African  soldiers, 
who  beat  them  with  canes  and  whips.  We  can  prove  these 
facts  by  official  records,  which  have  more  claim  to  credence 
than  the  anonymous  letter  of  M.  L.  But  are  such  things  to  be 
wondered  at  when  the  newspapers  of  a  city  like  Paris,  which 
now  implores  considerate  treatment  on  the  hypocritical  plea  of 
civilisation,  can  propose,  without  eliciting  the  slightest  protest, 
that  when  the  French  troops  are  unable  to  take  our  wounded 
with  them  they  should  split  their  heads  open  ;  and  further,  that 
the  Germans  should  be  used  like  dead  wolves  to  manure  their 
fields  ?  The  utter  barbarism  of  the  French  nation,  covered 
with  a  thin  veneer  of  culture,  has  been  fully  disclosed  in  this 
war.     French    insolence  formerly   said,    '  Grattez    le    Russe  et 


152  GERMANY'S   NATIONAL   COLOURS  [Seft.  22 

vous  trouvcrcz  le  barbarc'  Whoever  is  in  a  position  to  com- 
pare the  conduct  of  the  Russians  towards  their  enemies  in  the 
Crimean  War,  with  that  of  the  French  in  the  present  campaign, 
can  have  no  doubt  that  this  statement  recoils  upon  its  authors." 

When  he  had  finished,  the  Minister  added :  —  "  Write  to 
Bernstorff  that  I  decline  in  future  to  notice  any  suggestion  for 
entering  into  a  controversy  with  English  newspapers.  The 
Ambassador  must  act  on  his  own  responsibility." 

Just  as  we  sat  down  to  table,  one  of  the  Court  officials 
announced  that  the  Crown  Prince  proposed  to  come  to  dinner 
and  to  stay  for  the  night.  The  Prince's  secretary  at  the  time 
asked  that  the  bureau  and  the  large  salon  next  the  Chancellor's 
room  should  be  prepared  for  the  five  gentlemen  who  accom- 
panied his  Royal  Highness.  The  Chief  replied,  "  We  cannot 
give  up  the  bureau,  as  we  want  it  for  our  work."  He  then 
placed  his  dressing-room  at  their  disposal,  and  further  proposed 
that  either  Blumenthal  or  Eulenburg  should  sleep  in  his  bed- 
room. He  required  the  salon  for  the  reception  of  the  French 
negotiators  and  any  Princes  who  might  call  upon  him.  The 
Court  official  went  off,  pulling  a  long  face,  and  was  impertinent 
enough  to  make  some  remarks  in  the  corridor  about  "  dis- 
courtesy "  and  so  forth. 

Count  Lehndorff  dined  with  us,  and  the  conversation  was 
very  lively.  Some  allusion  having  been  made  to  Frederick  the 
Great's  statue  in  Unter  den  Linden,  which  had  been  decorated 
with  black,  red,  and  yellow  flags,  the  Minister  condemned 
Wurmb  for  allowing  this  controversy  to  be  stirred  up.  "  This 
stupid  quarrel  about  the  colours  should  not  have  been  reopened, 
and  it  once  more  proves  Wurmb's  incapacity.  For  me  the 
question  is  settled  and  done  with  since  the  North  German  flag 
has  been  adopted.  Otherwise  this  battle  of  colours  is  a  matter 
of  indifference  to  me.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned  they  may  be 
green,  yellow,  and  all  the  colours  of  a  fancy  dress  ball,  or  they 
can  take  the  banner  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  Only  the  Prus- 
sian soldier  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  black,  red,  and 
yellow." 

The  Chief  then  spoke  of  the  peace,  which  he  still  considered 
remote,  adding: — "If  they  (the  PVench  Government)  go  to 
Orleans,  we  shall  follow  them  there,  and  further  —  right  down 
to  the  seashore."     He  read  out  some  telegrams,  including  one 


1S70]  TlIK   STUDY   OK   LATIN  AND   (JREEK  1 53 

[:;iving  a  list  of  the  troops  in  Paris.  "  There  are  supposed  to  be 
180,000  men  in  all,  but  there  are  hardly  60,000  real  soldiers 
amongst  them.  The  mobile  and  national  guards  with  their 
snuff-boxes  (a  reference  to  their  obsolete  weapons)  are  not  to 
be  reckoned  as  soldiers." 

I  asked  if  I  should  telegraph  about  the  report  of  artillery 
and  rifle  fire  in  the  streets  of  Paris,  which  people  fancied  they 
had  heard.  He  said  I  was  to  do  so.  "  But  not  yet,  I  suppose, 
about  the  negotiations  with  Favre  .'' "  "  Yes,"  he  replied,  and 
then  went  on  as  follows :  —  "  First  at  Haute-Maison,  near 
Montry,  then  the  same  evening  at  Ferrieres,  and  next  day  a 
third  conversation,  but  without  effect,  as  regards  the  armistice 
and  the  peace.  Other  French  parties  have  also  entered  into 
negotiations  with  us,"  he  said,  and  gave  some  indications  from 
which  I  gathered  that  he  referred  to  the  Empress  Eugenie. 

Something  else  led  him  to  speak  of  his  skill  in  shooting. 
He  said  that  as  a  young  man  he  could  hit  a  sheet  of  paper  with 
a  pistol  at  a  hundred  yards,  and  had  shot  off  the  heads  of  ducks 
in  the  pond. 

He  then  mentioned  that  he  had  again  complained  to  Tre- 
skow  of  the  "  short  commons  at  the  Royal  table,"  at  which 
Treskow  pulled  a  long  face.  "  But  if  I  am  to  work  well  I  must 
have  sufficient  food.  I  cannot  make  a  proper  peace  if  I  do  not 
get  enough  to  eat  and  drink.  That's  a  necessity  of  my  trade, 
and  therefore  I  prefer  to  dine  at  home." 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  dead  languages  —  I 
cannot  now  say  how.  "When  I  was  in  the  first  class  at  the 
high  school,"  he  said,  "  I  was  able  to  write  and  speak  Latin 
very  well.  I  should  now  find  it  extremely  difficult ;  and  I  have 
quite  forgotten  Greek.  I  cannot  understand  why  people  take 
so  much  trouble  with  these  languages.  It  must  be  merely  be- 
cause learned  men  do  not  wish  to  lessen  the  value  of  what  they 
have  themselves  so  laboriously  acquired."  I  ventured  to  remind 
him  of  the  mental  discipline  thus  provided.  The  Chief  replied, 
"  Yes ;  but  if  you  think  Greek  is  a  disciplina  mentis,  the  Rus- 
sian language  is  far  better  in  that  respect.  It  might  be  intro- 
duced instead  of  Greek  —  and  it  has  immediate  practical  value 
in  addition." 

We  then  spoke  of  the  w^ay  in  which  the  Schleswig-Holstein 
question  was  treated  by  the  Bundestag  in  the   fifties.     Count 


154  AN   ABORTIVE   CHALLENGE  [Sept.  22 

Bismarck-Bohlen,  who  had  come  in  in  the  meantime,  remarked 
that  those  debates  must  have  been  dull  enough  to  send  every 
one  to  sleep.  "  Yes,"  said  the  Chief,  "  in  Frankfort  they  slept 
over  the  negotiations  with  their  eyes  open.  Altogether  it  was 
a  sleepy  and  insipid  crowd,  and  things  only  became  endurable 
after  I  had  added  the  pepper."  He  then  told  us  a  delightful 
story  about  Count  Rechberg,  who  was  at  that  time  Austrian 
Minister  to  the  Bundestag.  "On  one  occasion  he  said  some- 
thing to  me  which  I  was  obliged  to  answer  very  roughly.  He 
replied  that  unless  I  withdrew  my  words  it  would  be  a  case 
of  going  out  on  to  the  Bockenheimer  Haide  (a  place  where  it 
was  customary  to  settle  affairs  of  honour).  *  I  never  withdraw 
my  words,'  said  I,  carelessly,  '  so  we  must  settle  it  in  that  way, 
and  it  occurs  to  me  that  the  garden  down  stairs  would  be  a 
very  suitable  place.  But  in  order  that  people  may  not  think 
that  I  represent  my  King  pistol  in  hand,  without  further  cere- 
mony I  shall  write  down  here  the  cause  of  our  quarrel.  After 
you  have  read  it  over  you  will  sign  it,  and  thus  testify  to  its 
correctness.  In  the  meantime  there  is  one  of  our  officers  lodg- 
ing here  who  will  oblige  me,  and  you  can  choose  one  of  your 
own  officers.'  I  rang  the  bell  and  sent  word  to  the  officer, 
requesting  him  to  call  upon  me ;  and  then  went  on  writing 
while  Rechberg  strode  up  and  down  the  room  —  and  gluck, 
gluck,  gluck  (here  the  Minister  mimicked  the  act  of  drinking) 
he  swallowed  one  glass  of  water  after  another.  Of  course  not 
because  he  was  afraid,  but  because  he  was  considering  whether 
he  ought  not  first  to  ask  permission  of  his  Government.  I 
quietly  continued  to  write.  The  officer  came  and  said  he 
would  gladly  oblige  me.  I  begged  him  to  wait  a  moment.  On 
my  return  Rechberg  said  he  would  think  over  the  matter  until 
morning,  to  which  I  agreed.  As  I  did  not  hear  from  him  next 
day,  however,  I  sent  the  Mecklenburg  Minister,  old  Oertzen,  to 
deliver  a  formal  challenge.  Oertzen  was  told  he  was  not  at 
home.  He  went  again  next  day,  but  Rechberg  was  still  not 
to  be  seen.  He  had  evidently  written  to  Vienna  and  was  wait- 
ing for  an  answer.  At  length  Oertzen  came  to  me  after  having 
sjioken  to  him.  Rechberg  was  prepared  to  withdraw  what  he 
had  said  and  offer  an  apology,  either  in  writing  or  verbally, 
just  as  I  liked.  He  would  also  come  to  me  if  I  wished.  I 
went  to  his  place,  however,  and  the  affair  was  settled." 


1870J  THE   HISTORICAL  CIGAR  I  55 

I  asked  him  then  about  llie  celebrated  story  of  the  cigars. 
"  Which  do  you  mean  ?  "  "  Why,  about  the  cigar  which  you 
Ht,  Excellency,  when  Rechberg  was  smoking  in  your  presence." 
"Thun,  you  mean.  Yes,  that  was  very  simple.  I  went  to  him 
while  he  was  at  work,  and  he  was  smoking.  He  begged  me 
to  excuse  him  for  a  moment.  I  waited  a  while  and  finding  it 
rather  slow,  as  he  did  not  offer  me  a  cigar,  I  took  one  of  my  own 
and  asked  him  for  a  light — which  he  gave  me  with  rather  a 
surprised  look.  But  I  have  another  story  of  the  same  kind. 
At  the  sittings  of  the  Military  Commission,  when  Rochow  rep- 
resented Prussia  at  the  Bundestag,  Austria  was  the  only  one 
who  smoked.  Rochow,  who  was  passionately  addicted  to  smok- 
ing, would  gladly  have  done  the  same,  but  had  not  sufficient 
confidence.  When  I  came  I  also  felt  a  longing  for  a  cigar,  and 
as  I  could  not  see  why  I  should  deny  myself  I  begged  the  pre- 
siding power  to  give  me  a  light,  apparently  much  to  his  and 
the  other  gentlemen's  astonishment  and  displeasure.  It  was 
evidently  an  event  for  them  all.  For  the  time  being  only 
Austria  and  Prussia  smoked.  But  the  remaining  gentlemen 
obviously  considered  the  matter  of  so  much  importance  that 
they  wrote  home  for  instructions  as  to  how  they  were  to  act 
in  the  circumstances.  The  authorities  were  in  no  hurry.  The 
affair  was  one  that  demanded  careful  consideration,  and  for 
nearly  six  months  the  two  great  powers  smoked  alone.  Then 
Schrenkh,  the  Bavarian  Minister,  began  to  assert  the  dignity 
of  his  office  by  lighting  his  weed.  Nostitz,  the  Saxon,  had  cer- 
tainly a  great  desire  to  do  the  same,  but  had  probably  not  yet 
received  the  permission  of  his  Minister.  On  seeing  Bothmer, 
of  Hanover,  however,  allow  himself  that  liberty,  Nostitz,  who 
was  strongly  Austrian  in  his  sympathies,  having  sons  in  the 
Austrian  army,  must  have  come  to  an  understanding  with  Rech- 
berg,  with  the  result  that  he  too  at  the  next  sitting  pulled  out 
his  cigar  case  and  puffed  away  with  the  rest.  Only  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Wiirtemberg  and  Darmstadt  now  remained,  and 
they  were  non-smokers.  The  honour  and  dignity  of  their 
States,  however,  imperiously  demanded  that  they  should  follow 
suit,  and  so  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Wiirtemberger  pulled  out 
a  cigar  at  the  next  sitting  —  I  can  still  see  it  in  my  mind's 
eye,  a  long,  thin,  yellow  thing  of  the  colour  of  rye  straw — • 
and  smoked  at  least  half  of  it  as  a  burnt-offerino;  on  the  altar 


156  FAVRE    KEJKLTS    HIS.MAKCK'S    DEMANDS  [Sun.  26 

of  patriotism.  Hesse-Darmstadt  was  the  only  one  who  finally 
refrained  —  probably  conscious  that  he  was  not  strong  enough 
to  enter  into  rivalry  with  the  others."  ^ 

Fnday,  September  i^rd.  —  Beautiful  weather  this  morning. 
I  took  a  walk  in  the  park  before  the  Chief  got  up.  On  my  re- 
turn I  met  Keudell,  who  called  out  "War!  A  letter  from  Favre 
rejecting  our  demands.  The  Chief  has  given  instructions  to 
communicate  the  letter  to  the  press  with  certain  comments, 
hinting  that  the  present  occupant  of  Wilhelmshohe  is  after  all 
not  so  bad  and  might  be  of  use  to  us." 

The  conversation  afterwards  turned  on  Pomeranian  affairs, 
and  the  Chief  spoke  amongst  other  things  of  the  great  estate 
of  Schmoldin.  The  former  proprietor  had  become  bankrupt 
through  treating  the  people  on  the  estate  —  mostly  Slav  fisher- 
men and  sailors  —  with  too  much  consideration.  The  place, 
which  consisted  of  about  8000  acres  of  arable  land,  and  12,000 
to  16,000  acres  of  forest  and  downs,  worth  at  least  200,000 
thalers,  was  purchased  by  the  Royal  Treasury  for  80,000 
thalers.  The  change  of  proprietors  had  not  benefited  the 
tenants,  as  there  was  no  question  of  forbearance  or  abatements. 
Many  of  them  have  fallen  into  a  state  of  pauperism,  and  instead 
of  being  provided  for  by  the  Royal  Treasury,  they  have  become 
a  burden  on  the  local  authorities.  That  is  not  as  it  ought  to 
be.  It  was  believed  that  Obstfelder  was  to  blame  for  this  hard 
and  unfair  treatment. 

Saturday,  September  2\th.  —  The  Minister  spoke  at  dinner 
about  the  ostentatious  decorations  of  the  great  hall  of  the 
chateau,  which  he  had  now  seen  for  the  first  time.  Amongst 
other  things  it  contains  a  throne  or  table  which  some  French 
marshal  or  general  inadvertently  packed  up  with  his  baggage 
somewhere  in  China,  or  Cochin  China,  and  afterwards  sold  to 
our  Baron.  The  Chief's  verdict  was  : —  "All  extremely  costly, 
but  not  particularly  beautiful,  and  still  less  comfortable."  Me 
then  continued:  —  "A  ready-made  property  like  this  would  not 
give  me  any  genuine  satisfaction.  It  was  made  by  others  and 
not  by  myself.  True,  there  are  many  things  in  it  really  beauti- 
ful, but  one  misses  the  pleasure  of  creating  and  altering.     It  is 


^The  WurtemberKcr  was  Von  Rcinhard,  ami  the  Darmstadtcr  Von  Munch-BcUing- 

hauscn,  huth  (Icterrninoi  ipiinoncnts  (jf  Prussia. 


1870]  DISCUSSING  TIIK  JEWS  I  57 

also  ciuitc  a  different  thing  when  I  have  to  ask  myself  if  I  can 
afford  to  spend  five  or  ten  thousand  thalers  on  this  or  that 
improvement,  and  when  there  is  no  need  to  think  about  the 
cost.  In  the  end  it  must  become  tiresome  to  have  always 
enough  and  more  than  enough." 

In  an  article  written  this  evening  wc  returned  to  our  good 
friends  the  French  ultramontanes,  who  are  as  active  in  war  as 
they  had  been  in  peace  in  opposing  the  German  cause,  inciting 
people  against  us,  circulating  lies  about  us  in  the  newspapers, 
and  even  leading  the  peasants  to  take  up  arms  against  our 
troops  as  at  Beaumont  and  Bazeilles. 

Sunday,  September  2^th.  —  At  table  we  somehow  came  to 
discuss  the  Jews.  "  They  have  no  real  home,"  said  the  Chief. 
"They  are  international  —  Europeans,  cosmopolitans,  nomads. 
Their  fatherland  is  Zion,  Jerusalem.  Otherwise  they  arc  citi- 
zens of  the  whole  world,  and  hold  together  everywhere.  There 
are  amongst  them  some  good,  honest  people,  as  for  instance 
one  at  our  own  place  in  Pomerania,  who  traded  in  hides  and 
such  things.  Business  cannot  have  prospered  with  him,  as  he 
became  bankrupt.  He  begged  of  me  not  to  press  my  claim, 
and  promised  that  he  would  pay  by  instalments,  when  he  could. 
Yielding  to  my  old  habit,  I  agreed,  and  he  actually  paid  off  the 
debt.  I  received  instalments  from  him  while  I  was  still  in 
Frankfort  as  Minister  to  the  Bundestag,  and  I  believe  that  if  I 
lost  anything  at  all,  I  must  have  lost  less  than  his  other  cred- 
itors. Certainly  not  many  such  Jews  are  to  be  met  with  in  our 
large  towns.  They  have  also  their  own  special  virtues.  They 
are  credited  with  respect  for  their  parents,  faithfulness  in  mar- 
riage, and  benevolence." 

Monday,  September  26th.  —  In  the  morning  wrote  various 
paragraphs  for  the  press  on  the  following  theme  :  —  It  is  urged 
that  we  cannot  be  allowed  to  bombard  Paris,  with  its  numerous 
museums,  beautiful  public  buildings  and  monuments  ;  that  to 
do  so  would  be  a  crime  against  civilisation.  But  why  not .-' 
Paris  is  a  fortress,  and  if  it  has  been  filled  with  treasures  of  art, 
if  it  possesses  magnificent  palaces  and  other  beautiful  structures, 
that  docs  not  alter  this  character.  A  fortress  is  an  instrument 
for  warlike  operations  which  must  be  rendered  powerless  with- 
out regard  to  whatever  else  may  be  bound  up  with  it.  If  the 
French  wanted  to  preserve  their  monuments  and  collections  of 


158  WHY   NOT   BOMBARD   PARIS?  [Sefi.  20 

books  and  pictures  from  the  dangers  of  war,  they  should  not 
have  surrounded  them  with  fortifications.  Besides,  the  French 
themselves  did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  bombard  Rome, 
which  contained  monuments  of  far  greater  value,  the  destruc- 
tion of  which  would  be  an  irretrievable  loss.  Also  sent  off  an 
article  on  the  bellicose  tendencies  of  the  French  radicals  pre- 
vious to  the  declaration  of  war,  for  use  in  our  newspapers  in 
Alsace. 

At  dinner,  as  we  were  discussing  military  matters,  the  Chief 
declared,  inter  alia,  that  the  Uhlans  were  the  best  cavalry. 
The  lance  gave  the  men  great  self-confidence.  It  was  urged 
that  it  was  a  hindrance  in  getting  through  underwood,  but  that 
was  a  mistake.  On  the  contrary,  the  lance  was  useful  in  mov- 
ing aside  the  branches.  He  knew  that  from  experience,  as, 
although  he  first  served  in  the  rifles,  he  was  afterwards  in  the 
Landwehr  cavalry.  The  abolition  of  the  lance  in  the  entire 
mounted  Landwehr  was  a  blunder.  The  curved  sabre  was  not 
much  use,  particularly  as  it  was  often  blunt.  The  straight 
thrusting  sword  was  much  more  practical. 

After  dinner  a  letter  was  received  from  Favre,  in  which  he 
requested,  first,  that  notice  should  be  given  of  the  commence- 
ment of  the  bombardment  of  Paris,  in  order  that  the  diplomatic 
corps  might  remove;  and,  second,  that  the  city  should  be  per- 
mitted to  remain  in  communication  with  the  outer  world  by 
letter.  Abeken  said,  as  he  brought  the  letter  down  from  the 
Chief's  room,  that  the  answer  would  be  sent  by  way  of  Brussels. 
"  But  then  the  letter  will  arrive  late  or  not  at  all,  and  be  re- 
turned to  us,"  observed  Keudell.  "Well,  that  does  not  matter," 
answered  Abeken.  From  the  further  conversation  it  appears 
that  the  answer  agrees  to  the  French  proposals  under  certain 
conditions. 

In  the  evening  I  was  again  called  to  the  Chief  on  several 
occasions  to  take  instructions.  Amongst  other  things,  I  ascer- 
tained that,  "  \\"hile  Favrc's  report  respecting  his  interviews 
with  the  Chancellor  shows,  it  is  true,  a  desire  to  give  a  faithful 
account  of  what  passed,  it  is  not  quite  accurate,  whicli  is  not 
surprising  in  the  circumstances,  especially  as  there  were  three 
different  meetings."  In  his  statement  the  question  of  an  armis- 
tice occupies  a  secondary  j:)osition,  whereas,  in  fact,  it  was  the 
chief  point.      Favre  was  prepared  to  pay  a  considerable  cash 


1870]  NEWSPAPERS   FOR  THE   KING  1 59 

indemnity.  In  the  matter  of  a  truce  two  alternatives  were  dis- 
cussed. First,  the  surrender  to  us  of  a  portion  of  the  fortifi- 
cations of  Paris,  namely,  at  a  point  which  would  give  us  the 
command  of  the  city,  we  on  our  part  to  allow  free  communica- 
tion with  the  outer  world.  The  second  was  that  we  should 
forego  that  condition,  but  that  Strasburg  and  Toul  should  be 
surrendered  to  us.  We  put  forward  the  latter  demand  because 
the  retention  of  these  towns  in  the  hands  of  the  French  in- 
creases our  difBculties  of  commissariat  transport.  The  Chan- 
cellor stated  that  with  respect  to  a  cession  of  territory,  he  could 
only  disclose  its  extent  and  frontiers  when  our  demand  had 
been  accepted  in  principle.  On  Favre  requesting  to  have  at 
least  an  indication  of  what  we  proposed  in  this  respect,  he  was 
informed  that  for  our  security  in  the  future  we  required  Stras- 
burg, "the  key  of  our  house,"  the  departments  of  the  upper 
and  lower  Rhine,  Metz,  and  a  portion  of  the  Moselle  depart- 
ment. The  object  of  the  armistice  was  to  submit  the  question 
of  peace  to  a  National  Assembly  to, be  summoned  for  the 
purpose. 

Again  called  to  the  Chief.  "The  King  wishes  to  see  some 
of  the  newspapers,  and  he  desires  to  have  the  most  important 
passages  marked.  I  have  proposed  Brass  to  him,  and  when 
the  papers  come,  put  that  one  (the  Norddeiitsche  Allgevieine 
Zeitung)  always  aside  for  him."  He  added,  smiling,  "Just 
mark  some  places  for  the  sake  of  appearances,  it  does  not  much 
matter  what,  and  send  me  up  the  paper." 

At  tea  we  hear  a  great  piece  of  news:  —  the  Italians  have 
occupied  Rome,  the  Pope  and  the  diplomatists  remaining  in  the 
Vatican. 

T?icsday,  September  2'jtJi.  —  Bolsing,  on  the  Chief's  instruc- 
tions, shows  me  the  answer  to  Favre's  letter,  which  the  Minister 
has  re-written  in  a  shorter  and  more  positive  form.  It  says : 
I.  —  It  is  not  usual  in  war  to  announce  the  commencement  of 
an  attack;  2. — A  besieged  fortress  does  not  appear  to  be  a 
suitable  residence  for  diplomatists ;  open  letters  containing 
nothing  objectionable  will  be  allowed  to  pass.  It  is  hoped  that 
the  corps  dipluinatique  will  agree  with  this  view  of  the  matter. 
They  can  go  to  Tours,  whither  it  would  appear  the  French  Gov- 
ernment also  intends  to  remove.  The  answer  is  written  in  Ger- 
man, a  course    already    begun    by  Bernstorff,   but    which    was 


l6o  FAVRE'S  TEARS  [Seff.  27 

carried  out  more  consistently  by  Bismarck.  "  Formerly,"  said 
Bolsing,  "  most  of  the  Secretaries  in  the  Foreign  Office  be- 
longed to  the  French  colony,  of  which  Roland  and  Delacroix 
still  remain.  Almost  all  the  Councillors  also  wrote  in  that 
language.  Even  the  register  of  the  despatches  was  kept  in 
French,  and  the  Ambassadors  usually  reported  in  that  lan- 
guage." Now  the  speech  of  the  "  vile  Gaul,"  as  Count  Bohlen 
calls  the  French,  is  only  used  in  exceptional  cases,  that  is,  in 
communicating  with  Governments  and  Ambassadors  to  whom 
we  cannot  write  or  reply  in  their  mother  tongue.  The  registers 
have  for  years  past  been  kept  in  German. 

The  Chief  has  been  at  work  since  8  o'clock  in  the  morning 
—  unusually  early  for  him.  He  has  again  been  unable  to 
sleep. 

Prince  Radziwill  and  Knobelsdorff,  of  the  General  Staff, 
joined  us  at  dinner.  In  speaking  of  that  part  of  Favre's  report 
in  which  he  says  that  he  wept,  the  Minister  thinks  that  he  can 
only  have  pretended  to  do  so.  "It  is  true,"  he  said,  "that  he 
looked  as  if  he  had  done  so,  and  I  tried  to  some  extent  to  con- 
sole him.  On  my  observing  him  more  closely,  however,  I  felt 
quite  certain  that  he  had  not  succeeded  in  squeezing  out  a  single 
tear.  It  was  all  merely  a  piece  of  acting  on  his  part.  He 
thought  to  work  upon  me  in  the  same  manner  as  a  Parisian 
lawyer  tries  to  move  a  jury.  I  am  perfectly  convinced  that  he 
was  painted  at  Ferrieres  —  particularly  at  the  second  interview. 
That  morning  he  looked  much  greyer  and  quite  green  under  the 
eyes —  I  am  prepared  to  bet  that  it  was  paint  —  grey  and  green, 
to  give  himself  an  appearance  of  deep  suffering.  It  is,  of 
course,  possible  that  he  was  deeply  affected ;  but  then  he  can 
be  no  politician  or  he  would  know  that  pity  has  nothing  to  do 
with  politics."  After  a  while  the  Minister  added  :  —  "When  I 
hinted  something  about  Strasburg  and  Metz,  he  assumed  a  look 
as  if  he  thought  I  was  jesting.  I  could  have  given  him  the 
answer  which  the  great  fur  dealer  of  Unter  den  Linden  in  Ber- 
lin once  gave  me.  I  went  there  to  choose  a  fur  coat,  and  on  his 
naming  a  very  high  price  for  one  to  which  I  had  taken  a  fancy, 
I  said,  '  Surely  you  are  joking.'  '  No,'  he  replied,  '  I  never 
make  jokes  in  business.'  " 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  the  occupation  of  Rome 
and  the  Pope's  position  in  the  Vatican,  on  which  ij(;int  the  Chief 


iSjo]  GENERAL   BUKXSIDE  l6l 

said,  amonjii^st  other  things:  "He  must  remain  a  Sovereign. 
The  only  question  is,  how  ?  It  would  be  possible  to  do  more 
for  him  if  the  ultramontanes  were  not  so  mueh  opposed  to  us 
everywhere.  I  am  accustomed  to  pay  people  back  in  their  own 
coin.  I  should  like  to  know  how  our  Harry  (von  Arnim,  the 
North  German  Ambassador  to  the  Holy  See)  now  feels.  Prob- 
ably, like  his  reports,  his  feelings  change  three  times  within  the 
twenty-four  hours.  He  is  really  too  distinguished  an  Ambas- 
sador for  such  a  small  sovereign.  The  Pope,  however,  is  not 
merely  the  ruler  of  the  Papal  States,  he  is  also  the  head  of  the 
Catholic  Church." 

After  dinner,  just  as  we  had  finished  our  coffee,  the  Ameri- 
can General  Burnside,  who  had  called  whilst  we  were  at  table, 
presented  himself  again,  accompanied  by  an  elderly  gentleman 
who  wore  a  red  woollen  shirt  and  a  paper  collar.  The  General, 
a  rather  tall,  portly  gentleman,  with  thick,  bushy  eyebrows,  and 
an  exceptionally  fine  set  of  beautifully  white  teeth  and  close-cut, 
mutton-chop  whiskers,  might  pass  for  an  elderly  Prussian  major 
in  plain  clothes.  The  Chief  sat  with  him  on  the  sofa,  and 
had  a  lively  conversation  in  English  over  a  couple  of  glasses 
of  kirschwasser,  which  were  afterwards  replenished.  Prince 
Radziwill,  in  the  meantime,  had  a  talk  with  the  General's  com- 
panion. 

After  the  Minister  had  observed  to  his  visitor  that  he  had 
come  rather  late  to  see  the  fighting,  he  went  on  to  say  that  in 
July  we  had  not  the  least  desire  for  war,  and  that  when  v.^e 
were  surprised  by  the  declaration  of  hostilities,  no  one,  neither 
the  King  nor  the  people,  had  thought  of  any  conquests.  Our 
army  was  an  excellent  one  for  a  war  of  defence,  but  it  would 
be  difficult  to  use  it  for  schemes  of  aggrandisement,  because 
with  us  the  army  was  the  people  itself,  which  did  not  lust  after 
glory,  as  it  required  and  wished  for  peace.  But  for  that  very 
reason  both  popular  sentiment  and  the  press  now  demanded 
a  better  frontier.  For  the  sake  of  the  maintenance  of  peace 
we  must  secure  ourselves  in  future  against  attack  from  a  vain- 
glorious and  covetous  nation,  and  that  security  could  only  be 
found  in  a  better  defensive  position  than  we  had  hitherto  had. 
Burnside  seemed  inclined  to  agree,  and  he  praised  very  highly 
our  excellent  organisation  and  the  gallantry  of  our  troops. 

Wcdncsddf,  September  2'$>ih.  —  The  general  conversation  at 

VOL.  I.  —  M 


l62  A    MKTAl'UV.SiCAL    GREASE-SPOT  [Seim.  28 

dinner  gradually  adopted  a  more  serious  tone.  The  Chancellor 
began  by  complaining  that  Voigts-Rhetz  in  his  report  had  not 
said  a  single  word  about  the  gallant  charge  of  the  two  regiments 
of  Dragoon  Guards  at  Mars  la  Tour,  which  nevertheless  he 
himself  had  ordered,  and  which  had  saved  the  loth  Army  Corps. 
"It  was  necessary  —  I  grant  that;  but  then  it  ought  not  to 
have  been  passed  over  in  silence." 

The  Minister  then  began  a  lengthy  speech,  which  ultimately 
assumed  the  character  of  a  dialogue  between  himself  and  Katt. 
Pointing  to  a  spot  of  grease  on  the  tablecloth,  the  Chief  re- 
marked:—  "Just  in  the  same  way  as  that  spot  spreads  and 
spreads,  so  the  feeling  that  it  is  beautiful  to  die  for  one's  coun- 
try and  honour,  even' without  recognition,  sinks  deeper  into  the 
skin  of  the  people  now  that  it  has  been  bathed  in  blood  —  it 
spreads  wider  and  wider.  .  .  .  Yes,  yes,  the  non-commissioned 
officer  has  the  same  views  and  the  same  sense  of  duty  as  the 
lieutenant  and  the  colonel  —  with  us  Germans.  That  feeling 
in  general  goes  very  deep  through  all  classes  of  the  nation.  .  .  . 
The  French  are  a  mass  that  can  easily  be  brought  under  one 
influence,  and  then  they  produce  a  great  effect.  Amongst  our 
people  everybody  has  his  own  opinion.  But  when  once  a  large 
number  of  Germans  come  to  hold  the  same  opinion,  great  things 
can  be  done  with  them.  If  they  were  all  agreed  they  would 
be  all-powerful.  .  .  .  The  P^cnch  have  not  that  sense  of  duty 
which  enables  a  man  to  allow  himself  to  be  sliot  dead  alone  in 
the  dark.  And  that  comes  from  the  reiunant  of  faith  which 
still  abides  in  our  people ;  it  comes  from  the  knowledge  that 
there  is  Some  One  there  Who  sees  me  even  if  my  lieutenant 
does  not  see  me." 

"  Do  you  believe  that  the  soldiers  reflect  on  such  things, 
E.xcellency  .'  "   asked    Fiirstenstein. 

"  '  Reflect ' .'  no.  It  is  a  feeling  —  a  frame  of  mind  ;  —  an  in- 
stinct, if  you  like.  When  f)nce  they  reflect  they  lose  that  feel- 
ing ;  they  argue  themselves  out  of  it.  .  .  .  I  cannot  conceive 
how  men  can  live  together  in  an  orderly  manner,  how  one  can 
do  his  duty  and  allow  others  to  do  theirs,  without  faith  in  a  re- 
vealed religion,  in  God,  WMio  wills  what  is  right,  in  a  higher 
judge  and  a  future  life." 

The  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar  was  announced,  l^ut  the 
Minister  continib'd,  it  might  well   be  for  a  caiarter  (^f   an  l;our 


1870)  r.IS.MAKCK'S    1)L  I'Y    TOWARDS    U)L)  163 

longer,  at  times  suddenly  departing;  from  his  j)ropcr  theme,  and 
frecjuently  repeating-  the  same  idea  in  other  words  :  "If  I  were 
no  longer  a  Christian  I  would  not  serve  the  King  another  hour. 
"  If  I  did  not  put  my  trust  in  God  I  should  certainly  place 
none  in  any  earthly  masters.  Why,  I  had  quite  enough  to  live 
on,  and  had  a  sufficiently  distinguished  position.  Why  should 
I  labour  and  toil  unceasingly  in  this  world,  and  expose  myself 
to  worry  and  vexation  if  I  did  not  feel  that  I  must  do  my  duty 
towards  God  ?  ^  If  I  did  not  believe  in  a  Divine  Providence 
which  has  ordained  this  German  nation  to  something  good  and 
great,  I  would  at  once  give  up  my  trade  as  a  Statesman  or  I 
should  never  have  gone  into  the  business.  Orders  and  titles 
have  no  attraction  for  me.  A  resolute  faith  in  a  life  after 
death  ^ — for  that  reason  I  am  a  royalist;  otherwise  I  am  by 
nature  a  republican.  Yes,  I  am  a  republican  in  the  highest 
degree ;  and  the  firm  determination  which  I  have  displayed  for 
ten  long  years  in  presence  of  all  possible  forms  of  absurdity  at 
Court  is  solely  due  to  my  resolute  faith.  Deprive  me  of  this 
faith  and  you  deprive  me  of  my  fatherland.  If  I  were  not  a 
firm  believer  in  Christianity,  if  I  had  not  the  w^onderful  basis  of 
religion,  you  would  never  have  had  such  a  Chancellor  of  the 
Confederation.  If  I  had  not  the  wonderful  basis  of  religion  I 
should  have  turned  my  back  to  the  whole  Court  —  and  if  you 
are  able  to  find  me  a  successor  who  has  that  basis  I  will  retire 
at  once.  But  I  am  living  amongst  heathens.  I  do  not  want  to 
make  any  proselytes,  but  I  feel  a  necessity  to  confess  this  faith." 

1  Compare  this  passage  with  the  speech  deUvered  by  Bismarck  in  the  United 
Diet  on  the  15th  of  June,  1S47.  On  that  occasion  he  said  :  "  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
conception  of  the  Christian  state  is  as  old  as  the  so-called  Holy  Roman  Empire,  as  old 
as  all  the  European  States,  and  that  it  is  exactly  the  ground  in  which  those  States  have 
struck  deep  roots;  and  further,  that  each  State  that  wishes  to  secure  its  own  perma- 
nence, or  even  if  it  merely  desires  to  prove  its  right  to  existence,  must  act  upon  re- 
ligious principles.  The  words  '  By  the  grace  of  God,'  which  Christian  rulers  add  to 
their  names,  are  for  me  no  mere  empty  sound.  On  the  contrary,  I  recognise  in  them 
the  confession  that  Princes  desire  to  wield  the  sceptre  with  which  God  has  invested 
them  in  accordance  with  Mis  Will."  Certain  remarks  made  by  the  Chancellor  in  his 
speech  of  tlie  9th  of  October,  1S78,  during  the  debate  on  the  Anti-Socialist  Bill,  should 
also  be  remembered  in  this  connection.  He  said,  in/er  alia  :  "  If  I  had  come  to  be- 
lieve as  these  men  (the  social  democrats)  do  —  yes,  I  live  a  full  and  busy  life  and  am 
in  opulent  circumstances- — but  that  would  not  be  sufficient  to  make  me  wish  to  live 
another  day  if  I  had  not,  in  the  words  of  the  poet,  '  an  Gott  und  bessere  Zukunft 
Glauben '  (faith  in  God  and  a  better  future)." 


l64  WHY    HE   SERVES   HIS   KLNG  [Seit.  29 

Katt  said  that  the  ancients  had  also  shown  much  self-sacri- 
fice and  devotion.  They  also  had  the  love  of  country,  which 
had  spurred  them  on  to  great  deeds.  He  was  convinced  that 
many  people  nowadays  acted  in  the  same  way  through  devotion 
to  the  State,  and  a  sense  of  duty  to  society. 

The  Chief  replied  that  this  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  to  duty 
towards  the  State  and  the  King  amongst  us  was  merely  a  rem- 
nant of  the  faith  of  our  fathers  and  grairUathers  in  an  altered 
form,  — "  more  confused,  and  yet  active,  no  longer  faith,  but 
nevertheless  faithful."  "How  willingly  would  I  go  away!  I 
enjoy  country  life,  the  woods  and  nature.  Sever  my  connection 
with  God  and  I  am  a  man  who  would  pack  up  to-morrow  and  be 

off  to  Varzin,  and  say  '  Kiss  my ,'  and  cultivate  his  oats. 

Vou  would  then  deprive  me  of  my  King,  because  why,  if  there 
is  no  Divine  commandment,  why  should  I  subordinate  myself 
to  these  Hohenzollerns  ?  They  are  a  Suabian  family,  no  better 
than  my  own,  and  in  that  case  no  concern  of  mine.  Why,  I 
should  be  worse  than  Jacoby,  who  might  then  be  accepted  as 
President  or  even  as  King.  He  would  be  in  many  ways  more 
sensible,  and  at  all  events  cheaper." 

Keudell  told  me  this  evening  that  the  Chief  had  already, 
while  standing  outside  the  chateau,  several  times  expressed  him- 
self in  a  similar  manner. 

After  dinner  the  Chancellor  received  in  his  own  salon  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Weimar,  as  also  Reynier,  and  subsequently 
Burnside  and  his  companion  of  the  day  before. 

TJiursday,  September  2C)th.  —  In  the  morning  wrote  articles 
on  the  folly  of  certain  German  newspapers  that  warned  us 
against  laying  claim  to  Metz  and  the  surrounding  district  be- 
cause the  inhabitants  spoke  French,  and  on  Ducrot's  unpardon- 
able escai)e  during  the  transj^ort  of  prisoners  to  Germany.  The 
second  article  was  also  sent  to  England. 

The  newspapers  contain  a  report  on  the  prevailing  public 
sentiment  in  Bavaria,  which  evidently  comes  from  a  thoroughly 
reliable  and  highly  competent  source.'  We  are  accordingly  to 
note  the  principal  j^oints  contained  therein.  The  news  given  in 
the  rei)ort  is  for  the  most  jiart  satisfactory  —  in  some  particulars 

^  It  was  a  report  fnun  Molil,  iirij,'inally  iiiteiii'cd  for  his  Ci(A'frnment  at  Carlsrulie, 
which  was  cunmiutiicat'^d  tu  liic  ('liicl',  under  who.st.;  instructions  extracts  tlu-n-froni 
wer',-  utilisei!  in  the  jiress. 


1870J  BAVARIAN    I'EKl.ING  165 

only  is  it  possible  to  wish  it  were  better.  The  idea  of  German 
unity  has  evidently  been  strengthened  and  extended  by  the  war, 
but  the  specific  Bavarian  amour  propre  has  also  increased.  The 
part  taken  by  the  army  in  the  victories  of  the  German  forces  at 
Worth  and  Sedan,  as  well  as  the  severe  losses  which  it  has  suf- 
fered, has  not  failed  to  excite  enthusiasm  throughout  all  classes 
of  the  population,  and  to  fill  them  with  pride  at  the  achievements 
of  their  countrymen.  They  are  convinced  that  their  King  sin- 
cerely desires  the  victory  of  the  German  arms,  and  has  used 
every  effort  to  secure  that  end.  His  immediate  entourage  is 
well  disposed.  That  cannot,  however,  be  said  of  all  his  Ministers. 
The  Minister  of  War  is  without  doubt  sincerely  anxious,  and  is 
doing  his  utmost  to  see  the  campaign  brought  to  a  satisfactory 
conclusion.  He  is  in  that  respect  thoroughly  reliable,  and  he 
will  no  doubt  be  found  on  the  right  side  in  the  matter  of  the 
conditions  of  peace.  Count  Bray,  on  the  other  hand,  is  and 
remains  ultramontane  and  Austrian  in  his  views.  In  his  heart 
of  hearts  he  is  opposed  to  the  war,  and  for  him  our  successes 
have  been  too  rapid,  and  our  victories  too  complete.  He  w^ould 
like  to  see  the  neutral  Powers  take  steps  to  restrain  us,  and  if  he 
could  he  would  support  such  measures. 

No  conclusion  is  to  be  drawn  from  the  very  confident  tone  of 
the  press  as  to  an  eventual  rearrangement  of  German  relations, 
which,  through  the  brotherhood  in  arms  during  the  war,  might 
develop  into  a  permanent  and  closer  union  also  in  times  of  peace. 
As  a  matter  of  course  Bray  would  be  opposed  to  the  entrance 
of  Bavaria  into  the  North  German  Confederation.  But  there 
are  also  other  influential  personages  who  do  not  contemplate 
such  a  course,  or  who  regard  the  effective  cooperation  of  the 
Bavarians  in  the  German  victories  less  as  a  means  to  promote 
the  closer  union  of  Germany  than  as  a  proof  of  the  power  of 
Bavaria  and  an  assertion  of  her  independence.  The  non-ultra- 
montane particularists  take  up  a  somewhat  similar  position. 
They  are  pleased  at  our  victories  and  proud  of  Bavaria's  share 
in  them.  They  admire  the  manner  in  which  the  Prussians  con- 
duct the  war,  and,  like  us,  they  desire  to  secure  Germany  against 
future  attack  from  the  West.  But  they  will  not  hear  of  Bavaria 
joining  the  North  German  Confederation.  The  partition  of  the 
conquered  French  territory  is  also  much  discussed  in  such 
circles.     Thev  would  like  to  see  Alsace  annexed  to  Baden  on 


l66  THE   GRAND   DUKE   OF   WEIMAR  [Oct.  2 

condition  that  the  Baden  Palatinate  were  ceded  to  Bavaria. 
The  more  penetrating  minds  amongst  them  are  forced  to  reckon 
with  the  probability  that  Baden,  and  in  all  likelihood  also  VViir- 
temberg,  will  after  the  peace  demand  admission  into  the  Federal 
State  already  formed  by  the  North.  The  ultramontanes  remain 
what  they  always  were,  although  they  are  now  silent  through 
fear.  Fortunately  they  have  lost  all  confidence  in  Austria,  so 
that  they  lack  support,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Bavarians, 
who  are  now  in  the  field,  have  an  entirely  different  opinion  of 
the  Prussians  to  that  which  they  entertained  before  the  war. 
They  are  full  of  the  highest  praise  for  their  northern  comrades, 
and  not  merely  for  their  military  qualities  and  achievements, 
but  also  for  their  readiness  to  help  the  Bavarians  when  they 
have  earlier  or  better  supplies  than  the  latter.  More  than  one 
of  them  has  written  home  that  their  priests  have  maligned  the 
Prussians.  It  is  not  true  that  the}''  are  all  Lutherans.  Many  of 
them  are  Catholics,  and  they  had  even  seen  some  Catholic 
military  chaplains  with  them.  As  the  officers  share  these  feel- 
ings the  army  on  its  return  will  carry  on  an  effective  propaganda 
against  ultramontanism,  and  probably  also  against  extreme  par- 
ticularism. It  will  be  easily  understood  that  men  of  national 
sentiment  in  Bavaria  should  feel  more  confident  than  ever. 
They  will  also  do  what  they  can  for  the  cause.  But  they  arc  a 
minority  in  the  Lower  Chamber,  and  in  the  Upper  House  they 
have  scarcely  two  or  three  representatives. 

At  dinner  the  conversation  turned  on  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Weimar  and  such  matters.  The  Minister  said  that  the  Grand 
Duke  had  been  to  see  him  the  evening  before,  and  wished  to 
obtain  some  information  which  he  (the  Chief)  was  unable  to 
give  him.  "  He  thinks  that  I  am  also  Jiis  Chancellor.  On  my 
politely  declining,  he  said  he  must  then  apply  to  the  King. 
'Yes,'  I  replied,  'but  in  that  case  his  Majesty  will  have  to  refer 
in  the  first  place  to  his  Minister.'  'And  the  Minister.^'  (Here 
the  Chief  bent  his  head  a  little  to  one  side  and  smiled  sweetly.) 
'He  will  maintain  an  impenetrable  silence.'" 

The  Chancellor  then  said  that  he  had  been  asked  what  was 
to  be  done  with  the  Gardes  Mobiles  captured  at  Strasburg. 
They  were  disposed  to  set  them  at  liberty  and  let  them  go 
home.      "God  forbid,"  said  I;   "send  them  to  Upper  Silesia." 

Friday,    Scptcnibcy   30///.  —  Received    another    letter    from 


1S70]  rUICrOSTKROUS    15LSV1U)DIKS  167 

l?;inibcrf;cr,  who  is  in  Hudon-Hadcn.  He  continues  to  use  his 
talents  and  influence  in  the  press  to  advance  the  Chancellor's 
views.  In  mv  answer  I  begged  him  to  counteract  the  ill- 
considered  arguments  of  certain  German  journalists  who  now, 
while  we  are  still  at  war,  and  have  hardly  done  the  heaviest 
part  of  our  task,  are  already  strongly  urging  moderation.  The 
worst  of  these  is  Dr.  Kruse,  of  the  Kblnische  Zcitu-ng,  with 
whom  the  idea  that  Metz  must  not  be  annexed  because  the 
inhabitants  speak  French  has  become  almost  a  monomania. 
These  gentlemen  offer  their  advice  as  to  how  far  we  can  or 
may  go  in  our  demands,  and  plead  in  favour  of  France,  while 
they  would  do  much  better  to  insist  upon  still  heavier  demands, 
"  in  order,"  as  the  Minister  said  in  complaining  of  this  being 
"preposterous"  behaviour,  "that  we  may  at  least  get  some- 
thing decent,  if  not  all  that  we  ask  for.  They  will  compel  me 
in  the  end  to  claim  the  Meuse  as  our  frontier.  Write  also  to 
]5amberger  that  I  had  credited  him  with  more  political  acumen 
than  to  imagine  that  we  really  want  to  replace  Napoleon  on  the 
French  throne." 

Sunday,  October  2nd.  —  At  tea-time,  to  a  remark  that  the 
poorer  classes  suffered  comparatively  more  than  the  upper  and 
wealthier,  the  Chief  replied  that  this  reminded  him  of  Sheri- 
dan's observation  at  Reims,  for  it  was  perhaps  after  all  as  w^ell 
it  should  be  so,  as  there  were  more  poor  people  than  well-to-do, 
and  we  must  always  keep  in  mind  the  object  of  the  war,  which 
was  to  secure  an  advantageous  peace.  The  more  Frenchmen 
suffered  from  the  war  the  greater  would  be  the  number  of  those 
who  would  long  for  peace,  whatever  our  conditions  might  be. 
"  And  their  treacherous  franctireurs,"  he  continued,  "  who  now 
stand  in  blouses  with  their  hands  in  their  pockets,  and  in  the 
next  moment  when  our  soldiers  have  passed  by  take  their  rifles 
out  of  the  ditch  and  fire  at  them.  It  will  come  to  this,  that  we 
will  shoot  down  every  male  inhabitant.  Really  that  would  be 
no  worse  than  in  battle,  where  they  fire  at  a  distance  of  2000 
yards,  and  cannot  recognise  each  other's  faces." 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  Russia,  on  the  communistic 
measure  of  dividing  the  land  between  the  village  communities, 
on  the  minor  nobility,  "  who  had  invested  their  savings  in  the 
purchase  of  peasants,  out  of  whom  they  squeezed  their  interest 
in  the  form  of  Obrok,"  and  of  the  incredible  wealth  of  many  of 


l68  THE   YUSSUrOFFS  [<>•  T.  4 

the  old  Boyar  families.  The  Chief  mentioned  several  examples, 
and  gave  a  full  account  of  the  Yussupoffs,  whose  fortune, 
although  nearly  half  of  it  had  been  several  times  confiscated  on 
account  of  their  complicity  in  conspiracies,  was  still  much  larger 
than  that  of  most  German  Princes.  It  was  so  great  that  "  two 
serfs,  father  and  son,  who  had  acted  in  succession  as  managers 
of  the  estate,  were  able  to  bleed  it  of  three  millions  without  the 
loss  being  felt."  "  The  palace  of  these  princes  in  St.  Petersburg 
contained  a  large  theatre  in  the  style  of  the  Weisser  Saal  in  the 
palace  at  Berlin,  and  had  magnificent  rooms  in  which  300  to  400 
persons  could  dine  with  comfort.  P'orty  years  ago  the  old 
Yussupoff  kept  open  table  daily.  A  poor  old  officer  on  the 
retired  list  had  dined  there  almost  every  day  for  years,  although 
no  one  knew  who  he  was.  The  name  and  rank  of  their  con- 
stant guest  was  only  discovered  on  inquiries  being  made  of  the 
police  when  on  one  occasion  he  had  remained  away  for  a  con- 
siderable time." 

Moud.iy,  October  yd. — We  were  joined  at  table  by  the 
Grand  Chamberlain,  Perponcher,  and  a  Herr  von  Thadden,  who 
was  to  be  appointed  a  member  of  the  Administration  at  Reims. 
The  Chief  told  several  anecdotes  of  the  old  Rothschild  of 
Frankfort.  He  had  on  one  occasion  heard  Rothschild  talking 
to  a  corn-dealer  who  wanted  to  buy  some  wheat.  The  latter 
said  that  such  a  rich  man  ought  not  to  put  the  price  of  wheat 
so  high.  "What  have  my  riches  got  to  do  with  it.^"  replied  the 
old  gentleman.  "  Is  my  wheat  any  the  worse  because  I  am 
rich.'  "  "  He  gave  dinners,  however,  which  did  all  honour  to  his 
wealth.  I  remember  once  when  the  present  King,  then  Prince 
of  Prussia,  was  in  Frankfort  and  I  invited  him  to  dinner. 
Rothschild  had  also  intended  to  invite  him.  The  Prince  told 
him,  however,  that  he  must  settle  that  with  me,  otherwise  he 
would  be  quite  as  pleased  to  dine  with  him  as  with  me.  Rciths- 
child  then  wanted  me  to  give  up  his  Royal  Highness  to  him.  I 
refused,  whereuj)on  he  had  the  naivete  to  propose  that  his  din- 
ner should  be  brought  to  my  house,  as  of  course  he  did  not 
partake  of  it  himself  —  he  only  ate  meat  prepared  in  Jewish 
fashion.  Naturally  I  also  declined  this  ])roposal,  although  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  his  dinner  would  \r\\c  been  better  than 
mine."  The  Chief  was  once  told  by  old  Metternich, — -"who, 
bv  the  way,  wns  very  well  dispensed  towards  me,"  —  that  at  one 


1S70]  1111'"-  i"-Ms  DF.sr.vrcii  169 

lime  when  he  had  l()(.l,i;cd  wilh  Rothschild,  on  his  way  to 
J()hannishcr<;  (MclLciMiich's  estate),  his  host  had  put  six  bottles 
of  Johannisberg  wine  into  his  lunch  basket  for  the  road.  These 
were  taken  out  unopened  on  Metternich's  arrival  at  Johannis- 
berg,  where  the  I'rince  asked  his  chief  cellarer  what  they  cost 
per  bottle.  "Twelve  florins,"  was  the  answer.  "Well,  then," 
said  Metternich,  "send  these  six  bottles  back  to  Baron  Roths- 
child when  he  gives  his  next  order,  but  charge  him  fifteen 
florins  apiece  for  them  then,  as  thc}'^  will  have  grown  older  by 
that  time." 

Ticesday,  October  A^tJi.  —  In  the  forenoon  again  called  to  the 
Chief  Bucher,  Councillor  of  Embassy ;  and  Wichr,  a  deci- 
pherer, arrived  after  lunch.  Bucher  appears  to  have  been  sum- 
moned here  in  order  to  replace  Abekcn,  who  has  been  ill  and 
ought  to  have  gone  home,  but  who  has  now  nearly  recovered. 
No  one  could  have  filled  his  place  better  than  Bucher,  who  is 
unquestionably  the  best  informed,  most  intelligent  and  unpre- 
judiced of  all  the  principal  workers  by  whom  the  Chief  is 
surrounded  and  who  help  to  propagate  his  ideas.  In  the 
evening  the  Chancellor  talked  about  Moltke,  remarking  how 
gallantly  he  had  attacked  the  punch  bowl  on  a  recent  occasion, 
and  in  what  excellent  spirits  he  w^as.  "  I  have  not  seen  him 
looking  so  well  for  a  long  time  past.  That  is  the  result  of  the 
w-ar.  It  is  his  trade.  I  remember,  when  the  Spanish  question 
became  acute,  he  looked  ten  years  younger.  Afterwards, 
when  I  told  him  that  the  Mohcnzollern  had  withdrawn,  he 
suddenly  looked  quite  old  and  infirm.  And  when  the  French 
showed  their  teeth  again  '  Molk '  was  once  more  fresh  and 
young.  The  matter  finally  ended  in  a  diner  a  trois — Molk. 
Roon,  and  I  —  which  resulted  (here  the  Chancellor  smiled  a 
cunning  smile)  in  the  Ems  telegram." 

We  start  early  to-morrow  morning,  as  we  have  a  long  jour- 
ney to  make.     Our  next  halt  will  be  at  Versailles. 


CHAPTER    IX 

THE     JOURNEY     TO     VERSAILLES MADAME     JESSE's     HOUSE,    AND 

OUR    LIFE    THERE 

We  left  Ferri^res  about  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
5th  of  October.  At  first  we  drove  along  by-roads,  which  were, 
however,  in  excellent  condition,  passing  a  large  wood,  several 
parks  and  chatcaus  and  a  number  of  respectable  villages  that 
appeared  to  be  entirely  deserted  by  their  inhabitants  and  were 
now  occupied  solely  by  German  soldiers.  Everywhere  an 
appearance  of  exceptional  prosperity.  Later  on  we  reached 
a  pontoon  bridge  decorated  with  the  Prussian  colours  which 
took  us  over  the  Seine.  On  the  other  side  we  met  the  Crown 
Prince  and  his  suite,  who  had  ridden  out  to  welcome  the  King. 
The  latter,  accompanied  by  the  Chancellor,  was  to  proceed 
from  this  point  on  horseback  to  a  review  of  troops.  We  then 
drove  on  alone,  turning  into  a  high  road  which  led  to  the 
village  of  Villeneuve  le  Roi. 

I  had  long  been  looking  forward  to  my  first  glimpse  of 
Paris.  It  was,  however,  cut  off  on  the  right  by  a  rather  high 
range  of  wooded  hills,  on  the  sides  of  which  we  now  and  then 
noticed  a  village  or  small  white  town.  At  length  we  come  to 
an  opening,  a  little  valley,  and  we  observe  the  blue  outline  of  a 
great  cupola  —  the  Pantheon!  Hurrah!  we  are  at  last  outside 
Paris. 

We  shortly  afterwards  turned  into  a  broad  paved  highway 
where  a  Bavarian  i)icket  was  stationed  to  watch  a  road  which 
crossed  it  at  this  point  and  led  towards  Paris.  To  the  left  an 
extensive  plain,  and  on  the  right  a  continuation  of  the  chain  of 
wooded  heights.  A  white  town  half-way  up  the  sloj)e,  then, 
lower  down,  two  other  villages,  and  we  finally  pass  through  an 
iron  gateway  partially  gilt,  traverse  some  busy  streets,  and  a 
straight  avenue  with  old  trees,  and  then  find  ourselves  in  front 
of  our  quarters  in  Versailles. 

170 


C)(  r.  (.,  1870)     rilK   ClIAXCKLLOR'S    (,)UAKrKKS    AT    VKRSAILLKS      171 

On  the  6th  of  Octol^cr,  the  day  after  our  arrival  in  the  old 
royal  town  of  France,  Keudell  remarked  that  we  might  possibly 
remain  here  for  some  three  weeks.  Nor  did  I  think  it  improb- 
able, as  the  course  of  the  war  up  to  that  time  had  accustomed 
us  to  speedy  success.  We  remained,  however,  five  long  months. 
But  as  will  be  seen  later  on,  the  Minister  must  have  suspected 
that  our  stay  would  not  be  a  short  one.  For  this  reason,  and 
as  our  lodging  was  the  scene  of  very  important  events,  a  fuller 
description  of  it  will  probably  be  welcome. 

The  house  which  was  occupied  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Confederation  belonged  to  one  Madame  Jesse,  widow  of  a 
wealthy  cloth  manufacturer,  who  shortly  before  our  arrival  fled 
to  Picardy  with  her  two  sons,  leaving  her  property  to  the  care 
of  her  gardener  and  his  wife.  It  is  No.  14  in  Rue  de  Provence, 
which  connects  the  Avenue  de  St.  Cloud  with  the  Boulevarde 
de  la  Reine.  The  Rue  de  Provence  is  one  of  the  quietest  in 
Versailles.  Many  of  the  houses  are  surrounded  by  gardens. 
Ours  is  a  slate-roofed  house  of  three  stories,  the  third  of  these 
being  a  garret.  From  the  entrance  in  the  courtyard  a  flight  of 
stone  steps  leads  up  to  the  hall  door.  On  the  right  of  this 
hall  is  the  principal  staircase,  and  the  following  rooms  open  on 
to  it:  the  dining-room  looking  out  on  the  garden,  the  salon,  a 
billiard-room,  a  conservatory,  and  the  library  of  the  deceased 
M.  Jesse. 

On  the  table  in  the  salon  stood  an  old-fashioned  chimney  clock 
with  a  fiendish  figure  in  bronze  biting  his  thumb.  This  demon 
grinned  sarcastically  at  all  the  negotiations  which  led  to  the 
treaties  with  the  South  German  States,  the  proclamation  of  the 
German  Emperor  and  Empire,  and  afterwards  to  the  surrender 
of  Paris  and  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  all  of  which  were 
signed  in  this  salon,  thus  securing  it  a  place  in  the  world's 
history. 

The  billiard-room  was  arranged  as  an  office  for  the  council- 
lors, secretaries,  and  decipherers.  In  January,  when  there  was 
a  severe  frost,  a  portion  of  the  winter  garden  was  assigned  to 
the  ofBcers  on  guard.  The  library  was  occupied  by  orderlies 
and  chancery  attendants. 

The  principal  staircase  led  to  a  second  hall,  which  received 
a  dim  light  from  a  square  flat  window  let  into  the  roof.  The 
doors  of  the  Minister's  two  rooms  opened  off  this  hall.     Neither 


172  Tlir,    PARK    B1:HIXD   the    IIOUSH  [Oct.  6 

of  them  was  more  than  ten  paces  by  seven.  One  of  these,  the 
window  of  which  opened  on  the  garden,  served  at  the  same  time 
as  study  and  bed-chamber,  and  was  very  scantily  furnished. 

The  other  chamber,  which  was  somewhat  better  furnished, 
although  not  at  all  luxuriously,  served,  in  addition  to  the  salon 
on  the  ground  floor,  for  the  reception  of  visitors.  During  the 
negotiations  for  the  capitulation  of  Paris  it  was  put  at  the  dis- 
posal of  Jules  Favrc  for  his  meditations  and  correspondence. 

Count  Bismarck-Bohlen  had  a  room  to  the  left  of  the  Chan- 
cellor's, which  also  opened  on  the  park  and  garden,  Abeken 
having  the  opposite  room  looking  on  the  street.  Bolsing  had 
a  small  chamber  near  the  back  stairs,  while  I  was  lodged  on  the 
second  floor  over  Bohlen's  room. 

The  park  behind  the  house,  though  not  large,  was  very 
pretty,  and  there  during  the  bright  autumn  nights  the  tall  figure 
and  white  cap  of  the  Chancellor  was  frequently  to  be  seen 
passing  from  the  shade  into  the  moonlight  as  he  slowly  strolled 
about.  What  was  the  sleepless  man  pondering  over.'  What 
ideas  were  revolving  through  the  mind  of  that  solitary  wan- 
derer.' What  plans  were  forming  or  ripening  in  his  brain 
during  those  still  midnight  hours .' 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  whole  Field  Foreign  Office  was  not 
quartered  at  Madame  Jesse's.  Lothar  Bucher  had  a  handsome 
apartment  in  the  Avenue  de  Paris,  Keudell  and  the  decipherers 
were  lodged  in  a  house  somewhat  higher  up  than  ours  in  the 
Rue  de  Provence,  and  Count  Hatzfeld  lived  in  the  last  house 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  way.  There  was  some  talk  on 
several  occasions  of  providing  the  Chancellor  with  more  roomy 
and  better-furnished  lodgings,  but  the  matter  went  no  further, 
possibly  because  he  himself  felt  no  great  desire  for  such  a 
change,  and  perhaps  also  because  he  liked  the  quiet  which 
prevailed  in  the  com]:)aratively  retired   Rue  de  Provence. 

During  the  day,  however,  this  stillness  was  less  idyllic  than 
many  rewspaper  correspondents  described  it  at  the  time.  I 
am  not  thinking  of  the  fifes  and  drums  of  the  troops  that 
marched  through  the  town  and  which  reached  our  cars  almost 
daily,  nor  of  the  noise  which  resulted  from  two  sorties  made 
by  the  Parisians  in  our  direction,  nor  even  of  the  hottest  day 
of  the  bombardment,  as  we  had  become  accustomed  to  all  that, 
much  as  the  miller  docs  to  the  roar  and  rattle  of  his  wheels. 


i;-;7uj  nil':  ciianci.i.i.or's  visik^rs  173 

I  refer  princiiKiUy  lo  llic  numerous  visitors  of  all  kinds,  many 
of  them  unwelcome,  who  were  received  by  the  Chancellor 
during  those  eventful  months.  Our  quarters  was  often  like 
a  pigeon  house  from  the  constant  How  of  strangers  and 
acquaintances  in  and  out.  At  first  non-official  eavesdroppers 
and  messengers  came  from  I'aris,  followed  later  by  official 
negotiators  in  the  persons  of  Favre  and  Thiers,  accompanied 
by  a  larger  or  smaller  retinue.  There  were  princely  visitors 
from  the  Hotel  des  Reservoirs.  The  Crown  Prince  came  sev- 
eral times  and  the  King  once.  The  Church  was  also  repre- 
sented amongst  the  callers  by  high  dignitaries,  archbishops, 
and  other  prelates.  Deputations  from  the  Reichstag,  individ- 
ual party  leaders,  higher  officials,  and  bankers  arrived  from 
Berlin,  while  Ministers  came  from  Bavaria  and  other  South 
German  States  for  the  purpose  of  concluding  treaties.  Ameri- 
can generals,  members  of  the  foreign  diplomatic  body  in  Paris, 
including  a  "coloured  gentleman,"  and  envoys  of  the  Imperial- 
ist party  wished  to  speak  to  the  busy  statesman  in  his  small 
room  upstairs,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  English  newspaper 
correspondents  eagerly  tried  to  force  their  way  into  his  pres- 
ence. Then  there  were  Government  couriers  with  their  de- 
spatch bags,  chancery  attendants  with  telegrams,  orderlies  with 
messages  from  the  General  Staff,  and  besides  all  these  a  super- 
fluity of  work  which  was  as  difficult  as  it  was  important.  In 
short,  what  with  deliberating  on  old  schemes  and  forming  new 
ones,  seeking  how^  to  overcome  difficulties,  vexation,  and  trouble, 
the  disappointment  of  well-grounded  expectations,  now  and 
then  a  lack  of  support  and  readiness  to  meet  his  views,  the 
foolish  opinions  of  the  Berlin  press  and  their  dissatisfaction 
notwithstanding  our  undreamt-of  success,  together  with  the 
agitation  of  the  Ultramontanes,  it  was  often  hard  to  under- 
stand how  the  Chancellor,  with  all  these  calls  upon  his  activity 
and  patience,  and  with  all  this  disturbance  and  friction,  was, 
on  the  whole,  able  to  preserve  his  health  and  maintain  that 
freshness  which  he  showed  so  frequently  late  in  the  evening 
in  conversations  both  serious  and  humorous.  During  his  stay 
at  Versailles  he  was  only  once  or  twice  unw^ell  for  three  or  four 
days. 

The  Minister  allowed  himself  little  recreation  —  a  ride  be- 
tween three  and  four  o'clock,  an  hour  at  table  with  half  an  hour 


174  MADAME  JESSE  [Ucr.  6 

for  the  cup  of  coffee  which  followed  it  in  the  drawing-room, 
and  now  and  then,  after  lO  p.m.,  a  longer  or  shorter  chat  at  the 
tea  table  with  whoever  happened  to  be  there,  and  a  couple  of 
hours'  sleej)  after  daybreak.  The  whole  remainder  of  the  day 
was  devoted  to  business,  studying  or  writing  in  his  room,  or  in 
conversations  and  negotiations,  —  unless  a  sortie  of  the  French 
or  some  other  important  military  operation  called  him  to  the 
side  of  the  King,  or  alone  to  some  post  of  observation. 

Nearly  every  day  the  Chancellor  had  guests  to  dinner,  and 
in  this  way  we  came  to  see  and  hear  almost  all  the  well-known 
and  celebrated  men  prominently  connected  with  the  war.  Favrc 
repeatedly  dined  with  us,  reluctantly  at  first  "because  his  coun- 
trymen within  the  walls  were  starving,"  but  afterwards  listening 
to  wise  counsel  and  exhortation  and  doing  justice  like  the  rest 
of  us  to  the  good  things  of  the  kitchen  and  cellar.  Thiers,  with 
his  keen  intelligent  features,  was  on  one  occasion  amongst  the 
guests,  and  the  Crown  Prince  once  did  us  the  honour  to  dine  at 
our  table,  when  such  of  the  Chief's  assistants  as  were  not  pre- 
viously known  to  him  were  presented.  At  another  time  Prince 
Albrecht  was  present.  Of  the  Minister's  further  guests,  I  will 
here  only  mention  Delbriick,  President  of  the  Kundeskanzleiamt, 
who  was  frequently  in  Versailles  for  weeks  at  a  time,  tlie  Duke 
of  Ratibor,  Prince  Putbus,  von  Benndigsen,  Simson,  Bamberger, 
Friedenthal  and  von  Blankenburg,  the  Bavarian  Ministers  Count 
Bray  and  von  Lutz,  the  Wiirtemberg  Ministers  von  Wachter  and 
Mittnacht,  von  Roggenbach,  Prince  Radziwill,  and  finally  Odo 
Russell,  who  was  subsequently  British  Ambassador  to  the  Ger- 
man Empire.  When  the  Chief  was  present  the  conversation 
was  always  lively  and  varied,  while  it  was  frequently  instructive 
as  illustrating  his  manner  of  regarding  men  and  things,  or  as 
throwing  light  upon  certain  episodes  and  incidents  of  his  past 
life. 

Madame  Jesse  put  in  an  appearance  a  few  days  before  our 
departure  and,  as  previously  observed,  did  not  produce  a  good 
impression.  She  seems  to  have  made  charges  against  us  which 
the  French  press,  even  papers  that  laid  claim  to  some  respecta- 
bility, circulated  with  manifest  j^leasure.  Amongst  other  things 
we  are  alleged  to  have  packed  up  her  plate  and  table  linen. 
Furthermore,  Count  Bismarck  tried  U)  compel  her  to  give  him 
a  valuable  clocl:. 


1S701  11  IK  sroRV  (>]•   rill';  cixxk  175 

The  first  assertion  was  simply  an  absurdity,  as  there  was  no 
silver  in  the  house,  unless  it  was  in  a  eorner  of  the  cellar  which 
was  walled  up,  and  which  on  the  express  directions  of  the 
Chief  —  was  left  unopened.  The  true  story  about  the  clock  was 
tpiile  different  to  that  circulated  by  Madame  Jesse.  The  article 
in  ciuestion  was  the  timepiece  in  the  drawing-room  with  the 
small  bronze  demon.  Madame  Jesse  offered  the  Chancellor  this 
jMcce  of  furniture,  which  in  itself  was  of  comparatively  little 
value,  at  an  exorbitant  price,  on  the  assumption  that  he  prized 
it  as  a  witness  to  the  important  negotiations  that  had  taken 
place  in  her  room.  I  believe  she  asked  5000  francs  for  it.  But 
she  overreached  herself,  and  her  offer  was  declined.  "  I  re- 
member," said  the  Minister  afterwards  in  licrlin,  "observing  at 
the  time  that  jiossibly  the  impish  figure  on  the  clock,  which 
made  such  faces,  might  be  particularly  dear  to  her  as  a  family 
portrait,  and  that  I  should  be  sorry  to  deprive  her  of  it." 


CHAPTER    X 

AUTUMN    DAYS    AT    VERSAILLES 

The  clay  after  our  arrival  at  Versailles  I  forwarded  the 
following  statement  with  regard  to  the  measures  taken  against 
Jacoby,  in  accordance  with  the  Chief's  views.  It  was  an  answer 
to  the  protests  which  had  been  made  by  the  German  press 
against  his  arrest,  and  not  merely  by  the  democratic  and  the 
progressist  organs,  which  invariably  criticise  political  and  mili- 
tarv  affairs  from  the  standpoint  of  private  morals. 

"We  still  hear  a  great  deal  about  the  alleged  illegality  com- 
mitted in  arresting  Jacoby.  That  measure  might  have  been  in- 
o[)portune  ;  j)erha})s  less  imjiortancc  might  have  been  attached 
to  his  demonstrations.  But  there  was  nothing  illegal  in  the 
course  adopted,  as  we  are  now  in  a  state  of  war,  when  tlic  ci\"il 
code  must  yield  to  military  necessity.  The  imprisonment  of 
Jacoby  falls  within  the  military  jurisdiction,  with  which  the 
police  and  the  judicial  authorities  have  nothing  to  do.  It  is 
in  no  sense  to  be  regarded  as  a  punishment.  Jacoby  is  simjily 
a  prisoner  of  war,  just  as  would  be  a  spy  arrested  in  Germany, 
with  whom  of  course  we  do  not  wish  otherwise  to  compare  him. 
In  other  words,  he  was  one  of  the  forces  that  increased  the 
difficulty  of  attaining  the  object  of  the  war,  and  had  accordingly 
to  be  rendered  harmless. 

"This  will  be  made  clear  by  a  glance  at  the  numerous 
instances  in  which  those  entrusted  with  the  conduct  of  war 
are  obliged  to  override  the  rights  of  person  and  pro])erty  recog- 
nised by  the  constitution.  Vov  j)ur]i()scs  of  successful  defence 
private  profierty  may  be  destroyed  without  previously  arranging 
the  terms  of  compensation,  houses  may  be  burned  and  ti'ees  cut 
down,  an  entrance  may  be  torced  into  ])rivate  residences,  street 
traffic  may  l)e  stopped  and  every  other  means  of  trans])ort  such 
as  ships,  carts,  &c.,  can  be  either  seized  or  destroyed  without 
the  previous  peruiission  of  the  owner,  that  rule  a]>plying  to  our 


Oct.  6,   1870]  WAR   TROSrECrS  1 77 

own  as  well  as  to  the  enemy's  country.  The  removal  of  persons 
who  afford  the  enemy  either  moral  or  material  support,  or  who 
merely  give  rise  to  suspicion  that  they  do  so,  comes  under  the 
same  category  of  laws  which  apply  to  countries  in  a  state  of  war. 

"  These  princijiles  are  not  contested  in  so  far  as  they  are 
applicable  to  the  immediate  seat  of  war.  The  idea  upon  which 
they  are  based  is  not,  however,  affected  by  the  locality.  Those 
who  wield  the  power  of  the  State  must  exercise  the  rights  and 
fulfil  the  duties  accorded  to  and  imposed  upon  them  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  object  of  the  war,  without  regard  to 
the  distance  from  the  actual  scene  of  warfare  of  the  obstacles 
which  require  removal.  They  are  bound  to  prevent  the  occur- 
rence of  such  incidents  as  render  the  attainment  of  peace  less 
easy.  We  are  now  carrying  on  a  war  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
forcing conditions  which  will  hinder  the  enemy  from  attacking 
us  in  future.  Our  opponents  resist  these  conditions  and  will  be 
greatly  encouraged  and  strengthened  in  their  resistance  by  a 
declaration  on  the  part  of  Germans  that  these  conditions  are 
inexpedient  and  unjust.  The  Brunswick  working-class  mani- 
festo and  the  Konigsberg  resolution  have  been  utilised  to  the 
utmost  by  the  French  press  and  have  obviously  confirmed  the 
Republicans  now  holding  power  in  Paris  in  the  idea  that  they 
are  right  in  rejecting  those  conditions.  These  French  Repub- 
licans measure  the  influence  of  their  German  sympathisers  on 
the  Governments  of  Germany  by  the  standard  of  their  own 
experience.  The  impression  which  those  demonstrations  at 
Brunswick  and  Konigsberg  produced  in  Germany  was  probably 
little,  but  the  point  is,  what  effect  did  they  have  in  Paris  ? 
The  effect  there  is  such  that  similar  demonstrations  must  be 
rendered  impossible  in  future,  and  their  instigator  must  accord- 
ingly be  put  out  of  harm's  way." 

In  the  morning  Keudell  said  to  me  we  might  remain  in 
Versailles  for  about  three  weeks.  Metz  would  soon  be  obliged 
to  capitulate,  as  they  now  had  only  horseflesh  to  eat  and  no 
salt.  They  were  still  confident  in  Paris,  although  there  was 
great  mortality  amongst  their  cattle,  which  were  fed  on  com- 
pressed food.  Burnside,  who  had  been  in  the  city,  confirmed 
this  news.  The  Minister  was  less  sanguine.  The  question  of 
uniforms  for  the  Secretaries  was  again  brought  up,  and  in  this 
connection  the    Chief   remarked  that  the  war  might  yet  con- 

VOL.  I.  — N 


1/8  ROYAL    LOAFERS  [Ocr.  7 

tinue  for  a  considerable  time,  perhaps  till  Christmas,  possibly 
till  luister,  and  probably  a  portion  of  the  troops  would  remain 
in  France  for  years  to  come.  Paris  should  have  been  imme- 
diately stormed  on  the  19th  of  September,  or  left  entirely  on 
one  side.  He  then  told  his  valet  to  send  to  Berlin  for  his  fur 
coats. 

In  the  further  course  of  conversation  the  Minister  said  : 
"  I  heard  something  really  characteristic  to-day.  The  host  of 
Princes  who  have  followed  us  and  who  are  lodging  at  the 
Hotel  des  Reservoirs  are  living  at  the  expense  of  the  town ! 
They  let  the  municipality  feed  them,  though  they  have  merely 
come  out  of  curiosity,  and  are  nothing  more  than  distinguished 
loafers.  It  is  particularly  shabby  of  the  Duke  of  Coburg,  who 
is  a  rich  man  with  an  annual  revenue  of  a  million  thalers. 
Such  a  piece  of  meanness  ought  to  be  noticed  in  the  press.  It 
is  shameful  for  a  Prince  to  allow  himself  to  be  fed  by  a  town 
already  so  im])overished."  The  Chief  again  returned  to  this 
subject  a  little  later:  "The  royal  household  is  a  very  compre- 
hensive conception,  and  so  it  is  impossible  to  object  to  these 
gentlemen  being  fed.  The  King  pays  for  the  Crown  Prince, 
and  the  Crown  Prince  for  the  other  princely  personages.  But 
it  is  mean  of  the  latter  to  help  to  suck  the  town  dry,  and  the 
news])apers  should  not  overlook  it." 

I  afterwards  asked  the  Minister,  who  was  alone  with  me  in 
the  drawing-room,  where  he  remained  behind  after  taking  a 
cup  of  coffee,  whether  I  should  send  the  press  particulars  of 
the  not  very  gentlemanly  conduct  of  the  Princes.  "  Certainly, 
why  not.''"  he  rcj^lied ;  "and  you  can  also  give  the  name  of 
the  Coburger — -not  in  our  own  j^apers,  however."  The  bolt 
was  accordingly  despatched  to  Metzler,  of  the  Foreign  Office 
in  Berlin,  who  was  to  jxiss  it  on  to  the  KoclniscJic  Zcitioig. 

"An  Ivnglishman  at  the  headquarters  at  Meaux  "  wrote  to 
the  Daily  Telegraph  that  the  Chief  on  the  conclusion  of  his 
interview  with  Malet  said  :  "  What  gives  my.self  and  the  King 
most  anxiety  is  the  influence  of  a  P'rench  Republic  in  Germany. 
We  are  very  well  aware  how  American  Republicanism  has 
reacted  upon  Germany,  and  if  the  P'rench  oppose  us  with  a 
republican  propaganda  it  will  do  us  more  harm  than  their 
armies."  The  Minister  wrote  on  the  margin  of  this  statement: 
"  An  absurd  lie." 


1S70J  TlIK   GRKIiK    MINISIKR    IN    I'AKi.^  1 79 

Friday,  October  yt/i.  —  Hatzfcld  informed  us  at  lunch  that 
the  Greek  Minister  in  Paris,  with  a  "family"  of  twenty-four 
or  twenty-five  persons,  has  come  out  to  us  on  his  way  to  Tours 
to  join  the  delegation  of  the  Government  of  National  Defence. 
His  boy  told  the  Count  that  he  did  not  at  all  like  Paris.  They 
got  too  little  meat  to  eat  there. 

Prepared  an  article  for  the  press  from  the  following  sketch : 
"We  are  carrying  on  war,  not  with  a  view  to  a  permanent  occu- 
pation of  France,  but  to  secure  a  peace  on  the  conditions  which 
we  have  laid  down.  For  that  reason  we  desire  to  negotiate 
with  a  Government  which  represents  the  will  of  France,  and 
whose  declarations  and  concessions  will  bind  France  as  well  as 
ourselves.  The  present  Government  has  not  that  character. 
It  must  be  confirmed  by  a  National  Assembly,  or  replaced  by 
another  Government.  A  general  election  is  necessary  for  that 
purpose ;  and  we  are  quite  prepared  to  permit  this  to  take 
place  in  those  parts  of  the  country  which  we  occupy,  so  far 
as  strategic  considerations  will  allow.  The  present  holders 
of  power  in  Paris,  however,  have  no  disposition  to  adopt  this 
course.  For  personal  considerations  they  injure  the  interests 
of  the  country  by  inflicting  upon  it  a  continuance  of  the  evils 
of  war." 

Hatzfeld  complained  at  dinner  that  the  Greeks,  who  are 
anxious  to  get  away,  pestered  him  with  their  lamentations. 
"  Yes,"  said  the  Chief,  "  they  too  must  be  regarded  with  sus- 
picion. They- must  first  be  identified  according  to  their  de- 
scriptions, and  it  must  then  be  seen  whether  they  have  been 
properly  circumcised.  But  no,  that  is  not  customary  among 
the  Greeks.  What  seems  to  me,  however,  more  suspicious  even 
than  this  enormous  diplomatic  family  is  Wittgenstein,  who 
comes  out  at  the  risk  of  his  life  on  pretence  of  having  de- 
spatches for  me,  and  who  afterwards  turns  out  to  have  none. 
I  wonder  do  they  fancy  that  we  shall  tolerate  this  running  to 
and  fro  between  Paris  and  Kutusoff .''  " 

"  But,"  said  Hatzfeld,  "  he  might  be  able  to  bring  us  news 
from  the  city." 

The  Chief :  "  For  that  purpose  he  should  bear  a  character 
that  inspires  confidence,  and  that  he  does  not  do." 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  exhausted  condition  of 
the  town  of  Versailles,  which  has  had  heavy  expenses  to  bear 


l80  TlIK   MAYOR   OF   VERSAILLES  [Oct.  9 

during  the  last  fortnight.  The  new  Mayor,  a  M.  Rameau,  was 
granted  an  audience  with  the  Chief  to-day.  Referring  to  this 
the  Minister  said  :  "  I  told  him  that  they  should  raise  a  loan. 
'  Yes,'  he  replied,  '  that  would  be  possible,  but  then  he  must 
ask  permission  to  go  to  Tours,  as  he  required  the  authority  of 
his  Government  for  such  a  measure.'  Of  course  I  could  not 
promise  him  that,  and  besides  they  would  hardly  give  him  the 
necessary  authority  there.  Probably  they  think  at  Tours  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  Versailles  people  to  starve  in  order  that  we 
may  be  starved  with  them.  But  they  forget  that  we  are  the 
stronger  and  take  what  we  want.  They  have  absolutely  no 
idea  what  war  is." 

A  reference  to  the  neighbourhood  between  the  palace  and 
the  Hotel  des  Reservoirs  brought  up  the  subject  of  the  distin- 
guished guests  who  are  staying  at  the  latter  house.  Amongst 
other  remarks  upon  the  "  troop  of  Princes,"  the  Chancellor 
said :  "  They  have  nothing  decent  to  eat  at  that  hotel,  possibly 
because  the  people  think  their  highnesses  wish  to  have  it 
gratis." 

Finally  some  one  broached  the  question  of  tolerance,  and  at 
first  the  Chancellor  expressed  himself  much  in  the  same  sense 
as  he  had  done  at  St.  Avoid.  He  declared  in  decided  terms 
for  tolerance  in  matters  of  faith.  "  But,"  he  added,  "the  free- 
thinkers are  also  not  tolerant.  They  persecute  believers,  not 
indeed  with  the  stake,  since  that  is  impossible,  but  with  insult 
and  mockery  in  the  press.  Amongst  the  people,  so  far  as  they 
are  non-believers,  there  has  also  not  been  much  progress. 
What  ])leasure  it  would  afford  them  to  see  Pastor  Knack 
hanged  I  " 

Somebody  having  mentioned  that  early  Protestantism  had 
shown  no  tolerance,  liucher  called  attention  to  the  fact  that, 
according  to  Buckle,  the  Huguenots  were  zealous  reactionaries, 
as  was,  indeed,  the  case  with  all  the  reformers  of  that  period. 
"  They  were  not  exactly  reactionaries,"  replied  the  Chief,  "  but 
petty  tyrants  —  each  j')arson  was  a  small  Poi)e."  He  then 
referred  to  the  course  taken  by  Calvin  against  Servetus,  and 
added,  "  Luther  was  just  the  same."  I  ventured  to  recall 
Luther's  treatment  of  the  followers  of  Karlstadt  and  Munzer,  as 
well  as  the  case  of  the  Wittenberg  theologians  after  him,  and 
Chancellor  Krell.      Bucher  related  that  towards  the  end  of  the 


iSyoJ  RELIGIOUS  TOLERANXK  l8l 

last  century  the  Scottish  Prc.sl)ytcrians  punished  a  person  for 
merely  lending;  Thomas  Painc's  Rii^/tts  of  Man  with  twenty-one 
years'  trans[K)rtation,  the  offender  being  immediately  cast  into 
chains.  I  pointed  to  the  rigid  intolerance  of  the  New  England 
Stales  towards  the  members  of  other  religious  communions  and 
to  their  tyrannical  liquor  law.  "  And  the  Sabbath-keeping," 
said  the  Chief,  "  that  is  a  horrible  tyranny.  I  remember  the 
first  time  I  went  to  England,  on  landing  at  Hull  I  whistled  in 
the  street.  An  Englishman,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made 
on  board,  said  to  mo,  '  Pray,  sir,  don't  whistle! '  I  asked,  'Why 
not  ?  is  it  forbidden  here  .'' '  '  No,'  he  said,  '  but  it  is  the 
Sabbath.'  That  made  me  so  angry  that  I  immediately  took  a 
ticket  on  another  steamer  for  lidinburgh,  as  it  did  not  at  all  suit 
me  not  to  be  able  to  whistle  when  I  had  a  mind  to."  Bucher 
remarked  that  in  general  the  Sunday  in  England  was  not  so 
bad.  He  himself  had  always  greatly  enjoyed  the  stillness  after 
the  rush  and  roar  of  the  working  day  in  London,  where  the 
noise  began  early  in  the  morning.  The  Chancellor  then  con- 
tinued :  "  In  other  respects  I  am  not  at  all  opposed  to  keeping 
the  Sabbath  holy.  On  the  contrary,  as  a  landed  proprietor,  I 
promote  it  as  much  as  possible.  Only  I  will  not  force  the 
people.  Every  one  must  know  best  for  himself  how  to  prepare 
for  the  future  life.  No  work  should  be  done  on  Sunday, 
because  it  is  wrong  as  being  a  breach  of  the  Divine  command- 
ment, and  unfair  to  man,  who  requires  rest.  That  of  course 
docs  not  apply  to  the  service  of  the  State  and  in  particular  to 
the  diplomatic  service,  in  which  despatches  and  telegrams  are 
delivered  on  Sundays  which  must  be  dealt  with  at  once.  There 
can  also  be  no  objection  to  our  country  people  saving  their  hay 
or  corn  on  a  fine  Sunday  after  a  long  spell  of  bad  weather.  I 
could  not  bring  myself  to  coerce  my  farmers  in  those  things.  .  .  . 
I  can  afford  to  do  as  I  think  right  myself,  as  the  damage  done 
by  a  possible  rainy  Monday  would  not  affect  me.  Our  landed 
proprietors  consider  that  it  is  not  respectable  to  allow  their 
people  to  work  on  Sunday  even  in  such  an  emergency  !  "  I 
mentioned  that  pious  families  in  America  do  not  even  cook  on 
the  Sabbath,  and  that  on  being  once  invited  to  dinner  in  New 
York  on  a  Sunday  there  was  only  cold  meat  on  the  table.  "  In 
Erankfort,"  said  the  Chief,  "  when  I  had  more  liberty  we 
always  dined  very  simply  on  Sundays,  and  I  never  ordered  the 


1 82  THIRTEPZN   AT  TABLE  [Ocr.  lo 

carriage  out  on  account  of  the  servants."  I  ventured  to  remark 
that  in  Leipzig  all  shops  were  closed  on  Sunday,  with  the 
exception  of  the  bakers'  and  some  tobacconists.  "  Yes,  that  is 
as  it  should  be ;  but  I  do  not  want  to  put  pressure  on  anybody. 
I  might  possibly  do  it  in  the  country  by  not  buying  from  a 
tradesman  —  that  is,  if  his  goods  were  not  of  exceptionally  high 
quality,  for  then  I  do  not  know  whether  I  should  be  able  to 
stand  firm.  Care  should  be  taken,  however,  that  noisy  trades, 
such  as  that  of  the  blacksmith,  should  not  be  carried  on  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  a  church  on  Sunday." 

I  was  summoned  to  the  Minister  in  the  evening.  "Thile^ 
writes  to  me,"  he  said,  "  that  the  Norddcutschc  Allgemcine  Zei- 
tung  has  a  terrible  article  against  the  Catholics.  Is  it  by  you  .''  " 
"  I  do  not  know  which  he  alludes  to,  as  I  have  recently  called 
attention  on  several  occasions  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Ultra- 
montanes."  He  then  searched  for  the  extract,  which  he  read 
over  half  aloud.  "  But  that  is  perfectly  true  and  correct.  Yes, 
that's  quite  right.  Our  good  Thile  has  been  thoroughly  taken 
in  by  Savigny.  He  has  gone  out  of  his  wits  and  howls  because 
we  have  not  rescued  the  Pope  and  his  whole  family." 

We  were  thirteen  at  table  to-day,  Dr.  Lauer  being  one  of 
the  number.  I  pointed  this  out  to  Bucher,  who  sat  near  me. 
"  Don't  speak  .so  loud,"  he  replied.  "  The  Chief  has  a  very 
sharp  ear  and  he  is  superstitious  on  that  point."  ^ 

Monday,  October  lO///.  —  Called  to  the  Chief   twice  during 

1  At  that  time  Secretary  of  State  in  the  Foreign  Office.  He  was  not  a 
Catholic. 

2  Bucher  afterwards  told  me  that  the  Chancellor  was  affected  both  by  the  super- 
stition respecting  the  number  thirteen  and  that  relating  to  Friday.  Other  diplomats, 
as,  for  instance,  the  French,  seem  to  entertain  the  same  objection  both  to  the  number 
and  the  day.  The  following  anecdote,  which  I  was  assured  was  perfectly  genuine, 
may  serve  as  an  example.  After  the  negotiations  respecting  the  duty  jiayable  by 
ships  passing  through  the  Sound  had  been  completed,  it  was  arranged  that  the  treaty 
containing  the  terms  agreed  upon  should  be  signed  at  Copenhagen  on  the  13th  of 
March,  1857.  It  turned  out  that  the  day  thus  chosen  was  not  only  the  thirtccntli 
of  the  month,  but  was  also  a  Friday,  and  that  there  were  thirteen  Plenipotentiaries  tu 
sign  the  document.  "  A  threefold  misfortune  !  "  exclaimed  the  French  PlenipoteiUi- 
ary.  To  his  delight,  however,  the  addition  of  the  signatures  was  postponed  for  some 
days  owing  to  difficulties  occasionerl  by  the  difference  in  the  rate  of  exchange  (A  Danish 
and  Prussian  thalcrs.  The  number  of  representatives  still  caused  him  so  mucli  anxi- 
ety, however,  that  it  made  him  ill,  and  it  was  only  on  the  decease  of  the  Hanoverian 
Plenipotentiary  a  few  weeks  later  that  the  P'renchman  and  the  other  signatories  of 
the  treaty  felt  that  they  were  no  longer  in  danger  of  sudden  death. 


1S70I  THE    TIMES  183 

the  morning.  He  went  subsequently  to  the  Crown  Prince's 
quarters,  where  he  reuKiined  for  lunch. 

The  conversation  at  dinner  at  first  turned  on  the  interview 
of  the  King  with  Napoleon  at  Rellevue,  near  Sedan,  respecting 
which  Russell  sent  a  full  report  to  the  Times,  although  the  two 
sovereigns  were  alone  and  the  Chancellor  himself  was  only 
aware  of  what  had  passed  in  so  far  as  the  King  had  assured 
him  that  there  had  been  absolutely  no  reference  to  politics. 
"  As  a  matter  of  fact,"  said  the  Chancellor,  "it  would  not  have 
been  nice  of  '  our  Most  Gracious '  to  have  maintained  silence 
only  towards  his  Ministers.  Russell  must  unquestionably  have 
received  his  news  from  the  Crown  Prince." 

I  now  forget  how  and  by  whom  the  subject  of  dangerous 
touring  expeditions  was  introduced,  but  the  Minister  himself 
related  some  daring  enterprises  of  his  own.  "  I  remember,"  he 
said,  "  being  once  with  a  party,  amongst  whom  were  the  Orloffs, 
in  South  France  near  the  Pont  du  Card.  An  old  Roman  aque- 
duct of  several  stories  crossed  the  valley.  Princess  Orloff,  a 
very  spirited  lady,  proposed  that  we  should  go  across  over  it. 
There  was  a  very  narrow  path,  about  a  foot  and  a  half  wide, 
along  one  side  of  the  old  water  channel,  and  on  the  other  side 
a  wall  of  big  slabs  of  stone.  It  looked  a  very  hazardous  under- 
taking, but  I  could  not  allow  myself  to  be  beaten  by  a  woman. 
We  two  accordingly  started  on  this  enterprise,  Orloff  going 
with  the  rest  of  the  company  down  by  the  valley.  For  some 
time  we  walked  on  all  right  along  the  stone  wall,  from  which  we 
could  see  a  depth  of  several  hundred  feet  beneath  us.  Further 
on,  however,  the  stones  had  fallen  off  and  we  had  to  pick  our 
way  along  the  narrow  ledge.  Then  we  came  to  another  stretch 
of  relatively  easy  going,  but  after  there  was  another  very  bad 
bit  on  an  unsafe  ledge.  Screwing  up  my  courage  I  stepped 
out  quickly  after  the  Princess,  and  grasping  her  with  one  arm, 
jumped  down  with  her  into  the  channel  some  four  to  five  feet 
deep.  Our  companions  below,  who  had  suddenly  lost  sight  of 
us,  were  in  the  greatest  anxiety  until  at  length  we  came  out  on 
the  other  side." 

In  the  evening  I  was  called  to  the  Chief  to  receive  instruc- 
tions respecting  Garibaldi,  who,  according  to  a  telegram  from 
Tours,  had  arrived  there  and  offered  his  services  to  the  French 
Republic.     The  Chancellor  said:    "But  just  tell  me  why  you 


184  ULTRAMOXTANISM  [Ocr.  12 

sometimes  write  in  such  a  sledge-hammer  style  ?  It  is  true  I 
have  not  seen  the  text  of  your  telegram  about  Russell,  but  your 
recent  article  on  the  Ultramontanes  in  the  Norddcutsclic  All- 
gemcinc  Zcitung  was  very  strongly  worded.  Surely  the  Saxons 
are  usually  regarded  as  a  very  polite  race,  and  if  you  have  any 
ambition  to  become  Court  Historian  to  the  Foreign  Office,  you 
must  not  be  so  violent."  I  ventured  to  reply  that  I  could  also 
be  polite,  and  was  capable  of  irony  without  rudeness.  "  Well, 
then,"  he  said,  "be  polite  but  without  irony.  Write  diplo- 
matically. Even  in  a  declaration  of  war  one  observes  the  rules 
of  politeness." 

Tuesday,  October  nth. — It  appears  from  the  conversation 
at  dinner  that  an  assembly  of  a  congress  of  German  Princes  at 
Versailles  has  been  for  some  time  past  under  consideration. 
It  is  hoped  that  the  King  of  Bavaria  will  also  come.  In  that 
case  Delbriick  thinks  "  it  would  be  well  to  place  at  his  disposal 
one  of  the  historic  apartments  in  the  palace  —  possibly  the  bed- 
room of  Louis  XIV.  With  his  character  he  would  be  certainly 
delighted  at  such  an  arrangement,  and  would  not  be  too  exact- 
ing in  the  matter  of  comfort."  The  Chief  dined  to-day  with 
the  Crown  Prince,  and  did  not  return  until  10  o'clock,  when  he 
had  an  inter\'iew  with  Burnside. 

Wednesday,  Oetober  \2th.  —  Amongst  other  things  I  wrote 
to-day  another  article  on  the  hostile  attitude  assumed  by  the 
Ultramontanes  towards  us  in  this  war. 

It  was  directed  against  the  ScJdesiscJie  Hatis-Blcitter,  and 
concluded  as  follows :  "  We  should  have  thought  that  it  was 
impossible  at  this  time  of  day  to  be  misunderstood  in  using  the 
terms  'ultramontane'  and  '  ultramontanism.'  We  should  have 
thought  ttiat  honest  Catholics  would  as  clearly  have  understood 
what  was  meant  thereby  as  do  other  Christians,  and  that  as 
honest  Catholics  they  could  not  possibly  take  offenr:^  at  strict- 
ures upon  ultramontane  agitation  and  attacks.  Acting  on  this 
supposition,  we  called  attention  to  the  resistance  offci'efl  by  that 
party  to  the  latest  development  of  German  affairs.  To  our 
great  astonishment,  however,  we  learn  through  a  Silesian  jour- 
nal that  our  article,  in  which  the  party  in  question  was  de- 
scribed as  ultramontane,  has  actually  given  offence,  and  been 
regarded  as  a  censure  and  impeachment  of  Catholicism  itself. 
We  deprecate  any  such  interpretation  of  our  meaning.    Nothing 


iSjo]  rilK   FRKXCII    q.KRCIY   AND   THE   WAR  185 

was  more  remote  from  our  intention.  From  our  standpoint 
Ultramontanism  has  just  as  little  in  common  with  the  faith  of 
the  Catholic  Church  as  Atheism  and  Nihilism  have  with  the 
Protestant  Church.  Ultramontanism  is  of  a  purely  political 
character.  It  is  the  spirit  of  a  sect  with  exclusively  worldly 
aims,  namely,  the  restoration  as  far  as  possible  of  universal 
empire  on  a  mediaeval  theocratic  basis.  It  does  not  recognise 
the  claims  of  patriotism,  and  it  considers  the  end  to  justify  the 
means.  In  speaking  of  the  Ultramontanes  as  zealous  oppo- 
nents of  Germany  in  the  present  war,  the  examples  which  we 
gave  made  it  sufficiently  clear  to  whom  we  referred.  For  the 
purpose  of  removing  all  doubt  on  this  point,  however,  and  to 
prevent  the  possibility  in  future  of  circles  for  whom  we  enter- 
tain feelings  of  respect  taking  unnecessary  offence  at  remarks 
which  were  not  intended  for  them,  we  will  here  add  a  few 
further  examples. 

"  When  we  complained  of  the  hostility  of  the  Ultramon- 
tanes, we  were  thinking  of  those  French  priests  who  were  con- 
victed upon  trustworthy  evidence  of  having  fired  upon  our 
soldiers.  In  repeating  these  charges  we  have  other  priests  in 
mind  who,  a  few  days  ago,  under  the  pretext  of  bringing  the 
last  consolation  to  the  dying,  sneaked  through  our  camp  out- 
side Paris  as  spies ;  and  the  manifesto  of  the  former  Ultra- 
montane deputy,  Keller,  an  Alsacian,  published  in  the  Union, 
which  declares  that  the  war  against  us  is  a  '  holy  war,'  and  that 
every  shot  fired  at  a  German  is  an  ce?ivre  saijite.  We  imagine 
that  after  this  explanation  our  Silesian  contemporary  will  no 
longer  doubt  our  respect  for  the  Catholic  Church,  and  wdll  not 
itself  desire  to  identif}'  the  Catholic  cause  with  those  who  thus 
act  and  speak,  and  are  guilty  of  such  a  gross  abuse  of  the  con- 
ception of  'holiness.'  " 

On  my  submitting  the  article  to  the  Chief  he  said:  "You 
still  write  too  bluntlv  for  me.     But  vou  told  me  that  vou  were 

J  J  J 

capable  of  delicate  irony.  Here,  however,  there  is  much  more 
irony  than  delicacy."  (I  had  only  reproduced  his  own  expres- 
sions, which,  however,  shall  be  avoided  in  future.)  "Write  it 
all  in  a  different  strain.  You  must  write  politically,  and  in  poli- 
tics the  object  is  not  to  give  offence."  The  Chief  then  altered 
the  article  in  part,  the  first  paragraph  assuming  the  following 
form:  "We  had  not  believed  that  at  this  time  of  day  the  use 


1 86  BISMARCK    EDITS    MY   ARTICLE  [Ocr.  12 

of  the  expressions  '  ultramontane  '  and  '  ultramontanism  '  could 
lead  to  any  misunderstanding.  We  imagined  that  Catholics 
had  as  clear  a  conception  of  the  meanings  of  those  words  as 
the  members  of  other  Christian  communities,  and  that  they 
would  understand  that  no  offence  was  intended  to  them  in 
complaining  of  the  attacks  of  the  Ultramontanes.  It  was  on 
this  supposition  that  we  dealt  with  the  opposition  of  the  party 
in  question  to  the  latest  development  of  German  affairs,  and  we 
are  surprised  to  find  that  a  Silesian  newspaper,  notorious  for  its 
violence  of  language,  has  inverted  our  meaning,  substituting  the 
Catholic-Christian  world  for  the  coterie  which  we  attacked." 
The  Minister  struck  out  the  adjective  "zealous"  before  "oppo- 
nents of  Germany,"  and  also  the  following  sentence  beginning 
with  the  words  "  For  the  purpose  of  removing."  The  conclud- 
ing passage  read  as  follows  after  the  Minister  had  corrected  it: 
"In  complaining  of  the  Ultramontanes  we  were  thinking,  as  we 
expressly  stated,  of  the  party  of  the  MiincJicner  Volksbotcn  and 
similar  organs,  whose  slanderous  jibes  stir  up  the  Germans 
against  each  other,  and  who  encouraged  the  French  to  attack 
Germany  and  are  partly  responsible  for  the  present  war,  inas- 
much as  they  represented  French  victory  to  be  easy  and  cer- 
tain, and  the  German  people  to  be  disunited ;  vvc  had  in  mind 
the  priests  of  Upper  Alsace  and  the  French  priests  who  insti- 
gated the  country  population  to  murderous  attacks  upon  our 
troops,  in  which  they  themselves  took  part ;  we  had  further  in 
view  those  priests  who  sullied  the  cloth,  sneaking  into  our  camp 
as  spies  under  pretence  of  bringing  the  last  consolation  to  the 
dying,  and  who  are  at  the  present  moment  being  tried  by  court- 
martial  for  this  conduct ;  and  we  were  also  thinking  of  a  manifesto 
published  in  the  Union  by  the  former  Ultramontane  deputy, 
Keller,  an  Alsacian,  in  which  the  present  war  was  rej^resentcd 
as  a  crusade,  and  every  shot  fired  at  a  German  as  an  cenvir 
saintc.  We  imagine  that  the  Silesian  journal  in  question  will 
hardly  succeed  in  obtaining  credence  when  it  casts  doubt  upon 
our  respect  for  the  Catholic  Church.  It  will  not  desire  to 
identify  the  cause  of  Catholicism  with  that  of  men  who  have 
been  guilty  of  such  a  wicked  abuse  of  sacred  things  and  of 
genuine  faith." 

The  Chief  dined  with  the  King  to-day,  but  afterwards  joined 
us  at  table,  where  he  comi)lained  of  the  way  in  which  the  smaller 


iSjoJ  BISMARCK'S    WKAKNESS   l<OR   AMERICANS  187 

potentates  worried  "  their  "  Chancellor  with  all  sorts  of  questions 
and  counsels,  "  until  Prince  Charles  noticed  my  appealing  glance 
and  saved  me  from  their  clutches." 

After  dinner  a  gentleman  who  has  come  from  Paris,  supposed 
to  be  a  Spanish  diplomat,  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  interview 
with  the  Chancellor,  and  remained  with  him  for  a  long  time. 
Like  other  gentlemen  who  have  come  from  the  city,  he  will  not 
be  allowed  to  return.  Some  of  us  considered  the  visit  rather 
suspicious. 

Burnside  came  in  while  we  were  at  tea.  He  wishes  to  leave 
here  and  go  to  Brussels,  in  order  to  find  apartments  for  his 
wife,  who  is  now  at  Geneva.  He  says  that  Sheridan  has  left 
for  Switzerland  and  Italy.  Apparently  the  Americans  can 
do  nothing  further  in  the  way  of  negotiations.  The  general 
wished  to  see  the  Chief  again  this  evening.  I  dissuaded  him, 
pointing  out  that  although,  owing  to  his  great  regard  for  the 
Americans,  the  Chancellor  would  receive  him  if  he  were  an- 
nounced, yet  consideration  ought  to  be  paid  to  the  heavy  pres- 
sure upon  his  time.  This  was  quite  in  accord  with  the  Chief's 
wishes,  as  on  my  being  summoned  to  him  at  10.30  p.m.  he  said : 
"  As  you  know  Burnside,  please  point  out  to  him  how  much  I 
am  occupied,  but  in  such  a  way  that  he  will  not  think  I  have 
prompted  you.  He  never  quite  finishes  what  he  has  got  to  say, 
but  always  keeps  back  something  for  another  time.  It  is  only 
fair  that  he  should  know  how  busy  I  am,  and  that  I  am  a  matter- 
of-fact  man.  I  have  a  weakness  for  these  Americans,  and  they 
know  it,  but  they  ought  to  have  some  consideration  for  me. 
Point  that  out  to  him,  and  say  that  I  must  make  short  work  of 
it  even  with  crowned  heads.  Besides,  I  require  six  or  seven 
hours  daily  for  my  work  and  must  therefore  remain  at  it  until 
late  into  the  night." 

TJiursday,  October  \}^th.  —  Read  and  made  use  of  a  report 
from  Rome  giving  the  result  of  the  plebiscite,  which  shows  that 
there  is  no  longer  any  Papal  party  there.  It  would  appear  as 
if  the  whole  political  organisation  of  the  Papal  State  has  fallen 
into  dust  like  a  corpse  that,  after  remaining  unchanged  for  a 
thousand  years  in  its  leaden  shell,  has  been  suddenly  exposed 
to  the  air.  There  is  nothing  left  of  it  —  not  a  memory  nor  even 
a  void  which  it  had  filled.  The  voting,  which  had  to  be  con- 
ducted  according   to   the   Italian    Constitution,  is    a    voluntary 


1 88  ITALY   AND   THE   POPE  [Oct.  14 

manifestation  of  opinions  which  cither  involve  no  sacrifice  or  a 
very  slight  one,  except,  of  course,  to  the  emigrants.  So  far  as 
those  opinions  indicate  an  antipathy  to  the  political  regime  of 
the  Papacy,  there  can  be  no  possibility  of  a  reaction.  On  the 
other  hand,  whether  the  Romans  will  desire  to  be  and  to  re- 
main subjects  of  the  King  of  Italy  will  depend,  so  far  as  the 
permanence  of  his  rule  is  concerned,  upon  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  governed. 

I  received  this  report  from  the  Chancellor,  with  instructions 
to  utilise  it  in  the  press.  The  statistical  information,  however, 
was  all  that  was  to  be  taken.  "  It  would  appear  therefrom,"  he 
added,  "  that  there  has  been  some  trickery.  But  do  not  draw 
any  moral  against  either  the  Pope  or  Italy." 

To  judge  by  a  letter  from  St.  Louis,  dated  the  13th 
of  September,  national  sentiment  amongst  the  Germans  in 
America  would  seem  to  have  been  greatly  stimulated  by  the 
success  of  the  war,  and  to  be  now  much  stronger  than  their 
republican  leanings.  "  A  German  who  has  lived  here  for 
twenty  years,  who  was  formerly  your  deadly  foe,  but  whose 
ideal  you  now  are,"  thus  enthusiastically  addresses  the  Chan- 
cellor: "Forward,  Bismarck!  Hurrah  for  Germany!  Hurrah 
for  William  the  First,  Emperor  of  Germany!"  Bravo!  But 
it  appears  that  our  democrats  must  emigrate  before  they  can  be 
brought  to  entertain  such  feelings. 

The  conversation  at  dinner  was  not  of  particular  interest 
to-day.  While  taking  our  coffee,  the  Chancellor  again  read 
us  a  portion  of  a  letter  from  "  Johanna  "  (his  wife),  which  con- 
tained some  very  severe  judgments  upon  the  French,  referring, 
amongst  other  things,  to  Paris  as  an  "abominable  Babel." 

Friday,  October  i/^th.  —  Busy  working  for  the  post  up  to 
midday.  Telegraj:)hcd  afterwards  to  London  and  Brussels 
respecting  the  false  assertions  of  Ducrot  in  the  Libert^.  Also 
reported  that  General  Boyer,  Jiazaine's  first  adjutant,  had 
arrived  at  Versailles  from  Metz  for  the  purpose  of  negotiating 
with  us.  The  Chief,  however,  does  not  seem  to  wish  to  treat 
seriously  with  him,  at  least  to-day.  He  said  in  the  bureau  : 
"What  day  of  the  month  is  it.'"  "The  14th,  Excellency." 
"  Ah,  that  was  Hochkirchen  and  Jena,  days  of  disaster  for 
Prussia.  We  must  not  begin  any  business  to-day."  It  may 
also  !)c  o])served  th:;t  to-dav  is  a  Friday. 


1870]  GENERAL    150VEK  109 

At  dinner  the  Cliief,  after  thinking  for  a  moment,  said, 
smihng:  "I  have  a  loxcly  idea  in  connection  with  the  conclusion 
of  peace.  It  is  to  ai:)i)oint  an  International  Court  for  the  trial 
of  all  those  who  have  instigated  the  war,  newspaper  writers, 
deputies,  senators,  and  ministers."  Abeken  added  that  Thiers 
would  also  be  indirectly  involved,  especially  on  account  of  his 
chauvinistic  History  of  the  Cofisii/atc  and  E})ipirc.  "The 
Emperor  also,"  said  the  Chief.  "  He  is  not  quite  so  innocent 
as  he  wants  to  make  out.  My  idea  was  that  each  of  the  Great 
Powers  should  aj^point  an  equal  number  of  judges,  America, 
England,  Russia,  and  so  forth,  and  that  we  should  be  the  prose- 
cutors. But  the  English  and  the  Russians  would  of  course  not 
agree  to  it,  so  that  the  Court  might  after  all  be  composed  of  the 
two  nations  who  have  suffered  most  from  the  war,  that  is  to 
say,  of  Erenchmen  and  Germans."  The  Minister  also  said  :  "  I 
have  read  the  article  in  the  Lidcpcndancc  Beige,  which  Gram- 
mont  is  believed  to  have  written.  He  blames  us  for  not  having 
set  Napoleon  at  liberty  at  Sedan,  and  he  is  not  pleased  at  our 
marching  on  Paris  instead  of  merely  occupying  Alsace  and 
Lorraine  as  a  pledge.  I  thought  at  first  it  might  have  come 
from  Beust  or  some  other  good  friend  in  Austria,  but  I  am  now 
convinced  that  it  must  have  been  written  by  a  Frenchman." 
He  gave  his  reasons  for  this  opinion  and  then  continued  :  "  His 
argument  would  be  just  if  his  assumption  were  correct,  namely, 
that  we  really  did  not  want  Alsace,  but  only  an  indemnity. 
But  as  it  is  it  will  be  better  to  have  Paris  as  well  as  Alsace  as 
pledges.  When  one  wants  something  decent  the  pledge  can 
never  be  of  too  great  value." 

A  reference  was  made  to  Boyer,  who  created  a  great  sensa- 
tion in  the  town,  where  the  uniform  of  a  French  general  has  not 
been  seen  for  a  long  time  past,  and  who  was  greeted  by  the 
crowd  with  shouts  of  "  Vive  la  France  !  "  He  declared,  it  is 
said,  that  the  army  in  Metz  remained  faithful  to  the  Emperor 
and  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Republic  of  Parisian 
lawyers.  The  Chancellor  also  expressed  himself  to  this  effect, 
adding  :  "  The  General  is  one  of  those  people  who  become  sud- 
denly lean  when  they  grow  excited.  Unquestionably  he  is  also 
a  thorough  scoundrel,  but  he  can  still  blush."  In  reading  the 
following  further  remarks  by  the  Minister,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  Gambetta  had  already  preached  war  a  outrance,  and 


IQO  BISMARCK'S   POLICY    HAMPERED  [Ocr.  i6 

that  the  Parisian  press  almost  daily  recommended  some  new 
infamy. 

The  Chancellor  referred  to  various  horrors  that  had  again 
been  committed  recently  by  bands  of  guerillas.  He  quoted 
the  proverb  IVie  cs  in  den  Wald  schallt  so  schallt  cs  wicdcr 
hcraus  (The  wood  reechoes  what  is  shouted  into  it),  and  said 
that  to  show  any  consideration  to  these  treacherous  franctireurs 
was  a  "culpable  laziness  in  killing."  "It  is  treason  to  our 
country."  "  Our  people  are  very  good  marksmen,  but  bad 
executioners.  Every  village  in  which  an  act  of  treachery  has 
been  committed  should  be  burnt  to  the  ground,  and  all  the 
male  inhabitants  hanged." 

Count  Bismarck-Bohlen  then  related  that  the  village  of  Hably, 
where  a  squadron  of  Silesian  hussars  was  set  upon  by  francti- 
reurs with  the  knowledge  of  the  inhabitants,  so  that  they  only 
succeeded  in  bringing  away  eleven  horses,  was  actually  burnt  to 
the  ground.  The  Chief,  as  was  only  right  and  proper,  com- 
mended this  act  of  energy. 

Bohlen  further  stated  that  sixty  Bavarian  infantrymen  who 
were  with  the  cavalry  detachment  had  not  kept  proper  watch, 
and  that  when  the  franctireurs  poured  in  from  all  sides  at  3 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  took  to  their  heels.  The  Chief 
said :  "  That  fact  should  be  published  in  order  that  we  may 
take  proper  precautions  later  when  we  enter  into  a  military 
convention  with  l^avaria." 

The  Chancellor's  policy  appears  to  be  hampered  by  other 
influences.  He  said  at  table :  "It  is  really  a  great  nuisance  that 
I  must  first  discuss  every  plan  I  form  with  five  or  six  persons, 
who  as  a  rule  know  nothing  about  the  matter.  I  must  listen  to 
their  objections,  and  am  forced  to  refute  them  politely.  In  this 
way  I  have  been  recently  obliged  to  spend  three  whole  days 
over  an  affair  that  I  could  otherwise  have  settled  in  three  min- 
utes. It  is  exactly  as  if  I  began  to  give  my  opinion  on  the 
position  of  a  battery,  and  the  officer  —  whose  business  I  do  not 
understand — were  obliged  to  reply  to  my  argument." 

The  Chief  afterwards  related  the  following :  "  Moltke  and 
Roon  were  with  me  yesterday,  and  I  explained  to  them  my  ideas. 
Roon,  who  is  accustomed  to  Parliamentary  procedure,  was  silent 
and  let  me  speak,  and  then  agreed  with  what  I  said.  '  Molk,' 
whose  profile  resembles  more  and  more  every  day  that  of  a  bird  of 


1870J  MOLTKE   AND    KOON  IQI 

prey,  also  appeared  to  be  listening.  But  when  I  had  finished  he 
came  out  with  something  utterly  different,  and  I  saw  that  he  had 
not  paid  the  least  attention  to  my  explanation,  but  had  on  the 
contrary  been  spinning  out  some  ideas  of  his  own  which  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  '  Molk'  is  an  exceedingly  able 
man,  and  I  am  convinced  that  whatever  he  gave  his  attention 
to  he  would  do  well.  But  for  years  past  he  has  devoted  him- 
self to  one  single  subject,  and  he  has  come  to  have  no  head  and 
no  interest  for  anything  else.  It  put  me  in  a  temper  to  find  I 
had  been  talking  to  deaf  ears,  but  I  took  my  revenge.  Instead 
of  repeating  my  explanation  I  observed  to  Roon :  '  You  have 
given  me  your  opinion,  therefore  you  have  followed  what  I  said. 
Will  you  now  have  the  kindness  to  explain  the  matter  once 
more .-' ' " 

Sunday,  October  i6th. — This  morning  I  received  another 
letter  from  Bamberger,  who  writes  from  Lausanne.  He  thinks 
Bismarck  can  do  what  he  likes  if  he  will  only  follow  a  sound 
German  policy,  that  is  to  say,  "if  a  United  German  State  is 
now  firmly  established."  "  In  Germany  people  are  convinced 
that  this  solution  rests  with  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, and  all  opposition  offered  to  it  is  attributed  by  public 
opinion  to  the  Minister.  People  say  to  themselves  that  if  Count 
Bismarck  did  not  secretly  encourage  that  opposition  it  would 
not  dare  to  manifest  itself  in  such  a  great  crisis."  Finally  Bam- 
berger asked  whether  he  should  come  here.  At  his  request 
I  submitted  a  number  of  points  in  his  letter  to  the  Minister. 
The  Chief  said  he  would  be  very  pleased  to  see  Bamberger 
here,  as  his  local  knowledge  of  Paris  w^ould  be  very  useful  once 
we  got  in  the  city.  "  Then  he  can  also  on  his  return  explain 
many  things  in  his  own  circles  which  it  would  be  difficult  to 
write.  It  is  strange,  though,  that  they  should  think  I  do  not 
desire  to  see  Germany  united.  The  cause  is  not  progressing  as 
it  ought  to  do,  owing  to  the  constant  tergiversation  of  Bavaria 
and  Wijrtemberg,  and  because  we  do  not  know  exactly  what 
King  Lewis  thinks.  For  the  same  reasons,  if  this  unity  is  at 
length  secured,  many  things  to  which  many  people  look  for- 
ward will  still  be  wanting." 

Mojiday,  October  lyth.  —  In  the  evening  we  were  told  to 
pack  our  boxes,  and  that  the  carriages  were  to  take  their 
place  behind  those  of  the  King's  suite  opposite  the  Prefecture 


192  THK    POLISH   QUESTION  [Oct.  20 

in  case  of  an  alarm  in  the  night.  A  sortie  has  been  expected 
since  yesterday. 

Tuesday,  October  18///. — The  Chief  took  lunch  with  us 
to-day,  a  thing  which  has  seldom  happened  recently. 

The  Chief  then  read  a  number  of  particularly  edifying 
private  letters  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon  which  had  been  pub- 
lished bv  the  Provisional  Government,  his  comments  upon  them 
also  containing  occasional  references  to  personages  in  Berlin. 
The  Minister  said,  with  reference  to  a  letter  from  Pourtales, 
"  Schleinitz  was  very  discreet  in  speaking  of  his  colleagues,  but 
being  a  vain  old  coxcomb  he  was  exceedingly  loquacious  with 
women  of  all  sorts  and  conditions."  (Turning  to  Delbriick.) 
"  You  should  just  have  a  glance  at  the  police  reports  which 
Manteuffel  had  prepared  on  this  subject." 

The  Minister  afterwards  referred  to  a  statement  in  the 
Kraj,  and  in  connection  therewith  to  the  Poles  in  general.  He 
spoke  a  good  deal  about  the  victories  of  the  Great  Elector  in 
the  East,  and  the  alliance  with  Charles  the  Tenth  of  Sweden, 
which  had  promised  him  great  advantages.  It  was  a  pity,  how- 
ever, that  his  relations  with  Holland  prevented  him  from  fol- 
lowing up  those  advantages  and  fully  availing  himself  of  them. 
He  would  otherwise  have  had  a  good  prospect  of  extending 
his  power  in  Western  Poland.  On  Delbriick  remarking  that 
then  Prussia  would  not  have  remained  a  German  State,  the 
Chief  replied  :  "  It  would  not  have  done  any  great  harm.  In 
that  case  there  wcnild  have  been  a  northern  State  somewhat 
siuiilar  to  Austria  in  the  south.  Poland  would  have  been  for 
us  what  Hungary  is  to  Austria."  This  observation  reminded 
me  of  what  he  had  previously  said  on  one  occasion,  namely,  that 
he  had  advised  the  Crown  Prince  to  have  his  son  taught  the 
Polish  language,  which,  however,  to  his  regret,  was  not  done. 

Wednesday,  O.tober  19///.  —  At  dinner,  at  which  Count  W'al- 
dersee  joined  us,  the  Minister  remarked:  "It  would  be  a  good 
plan  if  the  inhabitants  of  a  few  square  miles  of  those  districts 
where  our  troops  are  hred  ;it  from  behind  hedges,  and  where 
the  rails  are  loosened  and  stones  laid  upon  the  railway  lines, 
were  transported  to  Germany  and  kei)t  under  close  watch 
there."  Bucher  related  how,  on  his  journey  hither,  an  officer 
haci  '-sorrowed  his  revolver  and  jilaxed  with  it  ostentatiously 
whiL   '_::ey   were   passing    under  a   bridge   from    \vliich    French 


1S70J  THE   (IRANI)    DUKK   OV    WEIMAR  I93 

scamps  were  accustomed  to  spit  clown  upon  our  people.  The 
Chief  exclaimed:  "Why  play!  He  should  have  waited  till 
they  had  done  it,  and  then  fired  at  them." 

If  I  rightly  understand,  Weimar  had  "commanded"  the 
Chancellor  to  call  upon  him  this  evening,  as  he  wished  to 
obtain  information  on  some  subject.  The  Chief  said:  "I  sent 
him  word  that  I  was  detained  by  my  health  and  the  business  of 
State." 

Waldersee  understands  that,  during  the  burning  of  the  Pal- 
ace of  Saint  Cloud,  some  of  the  minor  Princes  had  "saved  for 
themselves"  various  "souvenirs,"  such  as  vases,  trinkets,  and 
books,  but  were  forced  to  return  them  by  order  of  the  Crown 
Prince.  Bohlen  made  some  outrageous  jokes  upon  the  Weimar 
order  of  the  White  Falcon,  which  led  to  a  discussion  on  orders 
in  general,  and  the  plentiful  crop  of  this  species  of  fruit  which 
many  people  have  already  harvested.  "  Yes,"  said  the  Chief, 
"  such  quantities  of  tin  plate  !  If  it  were  only  possible  to  give 
away  the  orders  of  which  one  has  too  many !  To  you,  for 
instance.  Dr.  Busch.  How  would  you  like  it .''  "  "  No,  thank 
you.  Excellency,"  I  replied;  "very  many  thanks.  But  yes, 
if  I  could  have  one  of  those  that  you  have  worn  yourself,  as  a 
memento,  that  would  be  something  different.  Otherwise  I  do 
not  want  any." 

TJiursday,  October  20th.  —  Morning  and  afternoon  busy 
writing  various  articles  and  telegrams. 

The  arrest  of  Jacoby  by  the  military  authorities  was  one  of 
the  subjects  discussed  at  dinner,  and  the  Chief  once  more 
expressed  great  doubts  as  to  its  expediency.  Bismarck-Bohlen 
was  highly  pleased  that  "  the  chattering  scoundrel  had  been 
locked  up !  "  The  Chancellor's  reply  was  very  characteristic. 
He  said :  "  I  am  not  at  all  pleased.  A  party  man  might  be, 
because  it  w^ould  gratify  his  vindictiveness.  A  statesman  knows 
no  such  feeling.  In  politics  the  only  question  is,  what  good 
result  will  it  do  to  ill-treat  a  political  opponent  ? " 

Some  one  remarked  that  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar  was 
very  angry  because  the  Chief  had  not  gone  to  see  him  as 
desired,  whereupon  the  Minister  turned  to  Keudell  and  said 
rather  sharply  :  "  Tell (I  could  not  catch  the  name)  imme- 
diately that  I  was  indignant  at  his  Gracious  Master  making 
such  claims  upon  my  time  and  health,  and  that  he  should  have 

VOL.  I.  —  o 


194  THE   JACOBY   AFFAIR  [Oct.  20 

such  an  erroneous  idea  of  the  duties  which  I  have  to  discharge." 
"  I  can  now  understand  how  poor  Wartsdorf  came  to  die  so 
young."  "The  Coburger  worries  me  almost  as  much.  He  has 
written  me  a  twelve-page  letter  on  German  politics,  but  I  have 
given  him  a  proper  answer.  I  told  him  that  of  all  the  j)oints 
he  mentioned  there  was  only  one  which  had  not  been  long  since 
dealt  with,  and  that  one  was  not  worth  discussing.  He  did  us 
a  good  service,  however,  in  1866.  It  is  true  that  previously  he 
was  bad  enough  —  when  he  wished  to  be  Emperor  of  Germany, 
and  j)ut  himself  at  the  head  of  a  secret  shooting  club.  At  that 
time  I  seriously  intended  to  have  him  kidnapped  by  a  regiment 
of  hussars  and  brought  to  Magdeburg,  and  I  submitted  my  pro- 
posal to  the  King.  He  is  eaten  up  with  vanity."  The  Minister 
then  related  that  the  Duke  had  ordered  a  picture  to  be  painted 
of  himself  as  the  victor  of  Eckernforde,  seated  on  a  prancing 
charger  with  a  bombshell  exploding  at  his  feet ;  while,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  "  he  did  not  on  that  occasion  display  any  heroism, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  kept  at  a  respectful  distance  from  gun- 
shot—  which  was  quite  a  sensible  thing  for  him  to  do." 

The  German  Liberal  press  is  still  uneasy  with  respect  to  the 
arrest  of  Jacoby.  The  Chief  seems  to  consider  it  of  great  im- 
portance that  his  view  of  the  affair  should  not  be  misunderstood, 
and  that  it  should  be  generally  adopted.  The  IVi'scr  Zeitung 
of  the  1 6th  instant,  which  arrived  to-day,  has  an  article  which 
criticises  the  Minister's  previous  declarations  on  this  subject  in 
a  hostile  sjjirit.  It  concludes  as  follows  :  "To  sum  up,  we  must 
hold  to  our  view  that  Jacoby  has  been  treated  unjustly,  and 
although  we  anticipate  no  fearful  consequences  from  this  action, 
we  nevertheless  regret  this  episode  in  the  history  of  a  glorious 
epoch." 

The  Chief  dictated  the  following  reply:  — 

"The  Wcscr Zeitung  Qii  the  i6th  instant  heads  its  columns 
with  an  article  which  speaks  of  the  advice  forwarded  to  the 
Konigsberg  Magistrates  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation, 
through  the  Chief  President  von  Horn,  respecting  the  Jacoby 
affair.  Be  good  enough  to  permit  a  few  words  of  explanation 
in  connection  with  that  criticism.  The  remarks  of  the  Wescr 
Zeitung  refer  to  two  different  subjects.  The  statement  of  the 
Chancellor  in  his  communication  to  the  Chief  President  is  a 
purely  theoretical  discussion  as  to  whether  action,  inadmissible 


iSyo]  MILITARY   JURISDICTION  I95 

ill  peace,  may  not  be  taken  by  military  authorities  after  war  has 
actually  broken  out.  The  opinions  therein  expressed  are  almost 
the  same  as  those  which  must  have  been  entertained  by  the 
Weser  Zcitung  itself  when  it  remarked,  *  We  can  easily  conceive 
cases  in  which  we  should  be  prepared  with  all  our  hearts  to 
grant  not  only  an  indemnity  but  a  vote  of  thanks  for  the  some- 
what illegal  arrest  of  any  worthless  individual  who  obstructed 
this  holy  war.'  That  is  exactly  the  opinion  of  the  Chancellor. 
If  that  much  were  not  granted,  it  would  then  be  impossible  on 
an  invasion  of  North  German  territory  to  deliver  battle  on  our 
own  soil  unless  some  extensive  and  entirely  uninhabited  heath 
were  discovered  and  retained  for  the  purpose,  and  even  then  the 
proprietor  of  that  piece  of  ground  would  be  afterwards  able  to 
claim  compensation  for  the  damage  done  to  his  property. 

"  Either  the  authorities  entrusted  with  the  conduct  of  the 
military  operations  must,  notwithstanding  the  actual  outbreak 
of  hostilities,  be  bound  by  the  Constitution  and  the  law,  or  they 
must  be  held  at  liberty  to  take  such  reasonable  measures  as 
they  consider  necessary  with  a  view  to  the  fulfilment  of  their 
task.  Theoretically,  this  question  must  be  answered  with  a  bare 
affirmative  or  negative.  If  it  be  answered  in  the  negative  it  is 
hard  to  say  by  how  many  judicial  officials  every  detachment  of 
the  fighting  force  on  native  soil  would  have  to  be  accompanied, 
and  what  legal  formalities  gone  through  in  the  case  of  each  sep- 
arate house  and  person  before  the  military  authorities  could  feel 
that  they  were  constitutionally  within  their  rights  in  the  course 
they  desired  to  adopt.  If  the  question  is  answered  in  the  af- 
firmative, then  it  must  be  recognised  that  it  is  impossible  to 
codify  the  regulations  governing  the  discretionary  power  which 
must  be  vested  in  the  military  commander  in  war,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  general  or  soldier  who  executes  his  orders  on 
native  soil  can  in  every  instance  refer  to  the  particular  para- 
graph of  the  Constitution  or  the  law  justifying  his  action. 

"The  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  cannot  possibly  have 
had  any  other  intention  than  to  lay  down  the  principles  just 
stated  theoretically,  since,  as  a  Constitutional  Prussian  Minister 
of  State,  it  is  not  competent  for  him  to  express  any  opinion  as 
to  whether  the  military  commander  has  acted  rightly  in  exercis- 
ing the  power  vested  in  him,  or  as  to  the  extent  to  which  he 
may  have    exercised  it.     The  military  governors,  who  are  ap- 


196  THE  CHANCELLOR'S   POSITION  [Oct.  21 

pointed  before  the  outbreak  of  war,  are  neither  nominated  by 
the  Minister  nor  are  they  under  his  control.  They  are,  on  the 
contrary,  appointed  without  his  concurrence  on  the  authority 
of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  like  all  other  military  commanders. 
The  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  and  the  other  Ministers  of 
State  are  not  the  superiors  of  the  military  governors,  and  the 
latter  would  not  obey  the  directions  of  the  Ministers,  but  only 
those  of  the  military  authorities,  which  reach  them  without  any 
Ministerial  cooperation. 

"  It  is  therefore  an  entirely  unpractical  course  for  those  who 
consider  themselves  unjustly  treated  under  the  orders  of  the 
military  authorities  to  direct  their  complaints  to  the  Ministers 
of  State.  They  can  only  demand  redress  from  the  military 
superiors  of  those  against  whom  they  enter  complaint.  It  may 
therefore  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  Chancellor  of  the  Con- 
federation has  not  considered  himself  to  be  in  a  position  to 
officially  express  an  opinion  on  the  expediency  of  the  course 
adopted  in  a  single  instance,  such  as  that  of  Jacoby,  but  has*, 
on  the  contrary,  merely  dealt,  from  a  theoretical  standpoint, 
with  the  question  whether,  during  war  and  in  the  interest  of 
its  successful  prosecution,  the  arrest  of  individuals  whose  action 
in  the  judgment  of  the  military  authorities  is  injurious  to  us  and 
advantageous  to  the  enemy  is  temporarily  permissible. 

"  Stated  in  these  general  terms,  the  question  can  hardly  be 
answered  in  the  negative  by  practical  politicians  and  soldiers, 
although  they  may  entertain  many  scruples  both  on  theoretical 
and  judicial  grounds  against  martial  law  as  a  whole.  The  con- 
crete question,  however,  whether  this  right,  if  it  exists,  was 
properly  exercised  in  the  case  of  Jacoby,  is  as  much  beyond 
the  competence  of  the  Ministry  as,  say,  the  question  whether  it 
is  necessary  or  desirable  in  delivering  battle  on  native  soil  to 
set  a  particular  village  on  fire,  or  to  arrest  without  legal  process 
a  private  person  at  a  distance  of  fifty  miles  from  the  battlefield 
because  he  is  suspected  of  favouring  the  enemy.  A  discussion 
of  the  means  by  which  the  military  commander  could  be  ren- 
dered responsible  for  what  the  parties  concerned  may  consider  a 
false,  hasty,  or  improj^er  course  is  foreign  to  our  purpose.  We 
have  merely  been  at  jiains  to  show  that  the  constitutional  at- 
tributes of  the  Ministry  do  not  give  it  any  authority  to  interfere 
directly  in  such  cases." 


1870]  A    NICK   (,)UKSTlON  I97 

Friday,  October  2\st. — The  heavy  firing  which  began  early' 
this  morning  increased  as  the  day  wore  on.     We  did  not  allow 
this  to  disturb  us,  however.     Various  articles  were  completed, 
including  one  on  the  departure  of  the  Nuncio  and  other  diplo- 
mats from  Paris. 

At  lunch  Keudell  stated  that  the  French  artillery  had  de- 
stroyed the  porcelain  factory  at  Sevres.  Hatzfeld  told  us  that 
his  mother-in-law,  an  American  lady  who  had  remained  in  Paris, 
had  sent  him  good  news  respecting  the  ponies  of  which  he  had 
often  spoken  to  us.  They  were  fine  and  fat.  The  question 
was  whether  she  should  now  eat  them.  He  was  about  to  an- 
swer, "  Yes,  in  God's  name !  "  but  he  intended  to  get  the  price 
of  these  animals  included  in  the  indemnity  to  be  paid  by  the 
French  Government. 

Between  i  and  2  o'clock  the  firing  seemed  to  have  ap- 
proached the  woods  to  the  north  of  the  town.  The  artillery 
fire  was  severe,  the  reports  following  each  other  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, while  the  rattle  of  the  mitrailleuse  could  also  be  recognised. 
It  gave  the  impression  that  a  regular  battle  had  developed  and 
was  drawing  nearer  to  us.  The  Chief  ordered  his  horse  to  be 
saddled,  and  rode  off.  The  rest  of  us  also  followed  in  the  di- 
rection in  which  the  fight  seemed  to  be  raging.  We  saw  the 
familiar  white  clouds  that  accompany  shell  fire  rise  and  burst  in 
the  air  to  the  left,  over  the  wood  through  which  the  road  to 
Jardy  and  Vaucresson  leads.  Orderlies  were  galloping  along 
the  road  thither,  and  a  battalion  was  marching  towards  the 
point  where  the  engagement  was  taking  place.  The  fight  con- 
tinued until  after  4  o'clock,  and  then  one  heard  only  isolated 
discharges  from  the  large  fort  on  Mont  Valerien,  and  finally 
they  too  ceased.  As  was  only  natural,  great  excitement  pre- 
vailed during  the  afternoon  amongst  the  French  in  the  town, 
and  the  groups  who  stood  before  the  houses  probably  expected 
every  moment,  as  the  noise  of  the  firing  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
to  see  our  troops  in  full  flight  before  the  red  breeches.  They 
afterwards  drew  long  faces  and  shrugged  their  shoulders. 

In  the  evening  the  Chief  said  we  ought  not  to  permit  groups 
of  people  to  collect  in  the  streets  on  the  occasion  of  an  engage- 
ment, and  that  the  inhabitants  should  be  ordered  in  such  cir- 
cumstances to  remain  within  doors,  the  patrols  being  instructed 
to  fire  upon  those  refusing  obedience. 


198  FRANCE   AND   SPAIN  [Ocr.  22 

Sunday,  October  22nd.  —  This  has  now  been  done,  Voigts- 
Rhetz,  the  Commandant  of  Versailles,  having  issued  an  order 
to  the  effect  that  on  the  alarm  signal  being  given,  all  the  inhab- 
itants must  immediately  return  to  their  houses,  failing  which  the 
troops  had  received  instructions  to  fire  upon  them. 

The  Parisian  Prefect  of  Police,  Keratry,  has  appeared  in 
Madrid  with  the  object  of  submitting  two  proposals  to  General 
Prim.  The  first  is  that  France  and  Spain  should  enter  into  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance,  under  which  the  latter  country 
should  send  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  men  to  the  assistance  of 
the  French.  The  object  of  the  alliance  would  be  the  common 
defence  of  the  nations  of  the  Latin  race  against  the  supremacy 
of  the  Germanic  race.  On  Prim  declining  this  strange  offer 
(strange  inasmuch  as  the  Spanish  support  of  France,  which  but 
three  months  before  had  in  the  most  arrogant  manner  forced  its 
own  policy  upon  Spain,  would  be  an  unexampled  piece  of  self- 
renunciation  and  a  misconception  of  the  clearest  interests  of  the 
Spanish  people),  the  P'rench  intermediary  asked  that  at  least  a 
decree  should  be  issued  permitting  the  importation  of  arms  into 
France.     This  suggestion  was  also  rejected  by  Prim. 

The  surrender  of  Metz  is  expected  within  the  next  week. 
Prince  P"rederick  Charles  desires,  if  I  rightly  understand,  capitu- 
lation on  the  same  conditions  as  at  Sedan  and  Toul,  while  the 
Chancellor,  for  political  reasons,  is  in  favour  of  a  more  con- 
siderate treatment  of  the  garrison.  The  King  seems  to  hesitate 
between  the  two  courses. 

The  Chief  said  yesterday  to  the  Mayor  of  Versailles :  *'  No 
elections,  no  peace.  But  the  gentlemen  of  Paris  will  not  hear 
of  them.  The  American  generals  who  were  in  Paris  with  the 
object  of  inducing  them  to  hold  the  elections  tell  me  that  there 
is  no  getting  them  to  consider  the  matter.  Only  Trochu  said 
they  were  not  yet  so  hard  pressed  that  they  need  enter  into 
negotiations,  —  the  others  would  not  hear  of  them,  not  even  of 
submitting  the  question  to  the  country."  "  I  told  him  finally," 
said  the  Minister,  "  that  we  should  have  no  alternative  but  to 
come  to  an  understanding  with  Napoleon,  and  to  force  him  back 
upon  the  P'rench  again.  He  did  not  believe  we  would  do  that, 
as  it  would  be  the  grossest  insult  we  could  offer  them.  I  rc- 
yjlicd  that  it  was  nevertheless  in  the  interests  of  the  victor  to 
I'j.ivc  the  defeated  nation   under  a  tririvic  which  would  have  to 


iStoI  I'OI.ITICAL    I'ARllKS    IN    I'KANCL: 


199 


rely  solely  upon  tlic  army.  In  such  circumstances  it  would  be 
im|)()ssil)le  to  think  ol  loreiij;n  wars.  In  conclusion,  I  advised 
him  not  to  make  the  mistake  of  thinking  that  Napoleon  had  no 
hold  upon  the  i)eo})le.  lie  had  the  army  on  his  side.  Boyer 
had  net;otiated  with  me  in  the  name  of  the  Emjjeror.  Mow  far 
the  present  (jovernment  in  Paris  had  the  support  of  the  people 
remained  to  be  seen.  The  rural  population  could  hardly  share 
the  opinion  that  peace  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  He  then  gave 
his  own  view  respecting  the  conditions  of  peace,  namely,  the 
razing  of  their  fortresses  and  ours,  and  the  disarmament  of  both 
countries  in  proportion  to  the  population,  &c.  As  I  told  him  at 
the  commencement,  these  people  have  no  right  conception  of 
what  war  really  is." 

The  NoiivcUiste  being  now  the  only  newspaper  in  Versailles, 
and  as  it  sensibly  avoids  unnecessarily  hurting  the  patriotic  sen- 
timents of  the  French,  the  people  here  take  some  account  of  it. 
Lowensohn  tells  us  that  the  number  of  copies  sold  varies,  some 
issues  have  been  quite  cleared  out,  while  of  others  he  has  only 
thirty  to  fifty,  and  of  yesterday's  150  copies  on  hand.  Up  to 
the  present  his  weekly  balance  shows  no  loss. 

In  the  evening  wrote  an  article  for  the  NoyddciitscJic,  in 
which  the  following  ideas  are  developed.  The  first  condition 
upon  which  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  insisted  in 
speaking  to  the  various  persons  who  have  desired  to  negotiate 
with  him  respecting  peace  was  the  election  of  an  assembly 
representing  the  will  of  France.  He  addressed  the  same 
demand  to  the  emissaries  of  the  Republicans  and  to  the 
Imperialists,  and  to  another  third  party.  He  desires  to  grant 
all  possible  facilities  for  thus  consulting  the  wishes  of  the  popu- 
lation. The  form  of  government  is  a  matter  of  entire  indiffer- 
ence to  us.  But  we  can  only  deal  with  a  real  Government 
recognised  by  the  nation. 

The  Xotivcllistc  will  shortly  publish  the  following  ideas  in  a 
French  dress  :  "  At  the  present  moment  in  France,  events  are 
constantly  occurring  which  are  not  only  opposed  to  common 
sense,  but  are  frequently  an  outrage  on  all  moral  feeling. 
Former  Papal  Zouaves,  and  not  alone  Frenchmen,  serve  without 
scruple  in  the  army  of  a  Republic  which  is  governed  by  Voltair- 
ians. Garibaldi  comes  to  Tours  and  offers,  as  he  says,  what 
remains  of  his  life  to  the  service  of  France.     He  can  hardly 


200  AN    IMPOSSIBLE   SUGGESTION  [Oct.  26 

have  forgotten  that  this  same  France,  twenty  years  before,  de- 
stroyed the  Roman  Republic,  while  the  wounds  which  it  inflicted 
upon  his  country  at  Mentana  must  be  still  fresh  in  his  memory. 
Nor  can  we  have  forgotten  how  his  native  town  of  Nice  was 
filched  from  the  Italian  fatherland  by  this  same  France,  and 
that  it  is  at  the  present  moment  only  restrained  by  a  state  of 
siege  from  throwing  off  the  French  yoke." 

Delbriick  mentioned  that  during  the  preliminary  negotia- 
tions for  the  reorganisation  of  Germany,  Bavaria  laid  claim  to 
a  kind  of  joint  participation  in  the  representation  of  the  Fed- 
eral State  in  foreign  countries,  the  Bavarian  idea  being  that 
when  the  Prussian,  or  rather  the  German,  Minister  or  Ambas- 
sador was  absent,  the  Bavarian  representative  should  have  the 
conduct  of  affairs.  The  Chief  said  :  "  No,  whatever  they  like, 
but  that  is  really  impossible.  The  question  is  not  what 
Ambassador  we  are  to  have,  but  what  instructions  he  is  to 
receive,  and  under  that  arrangement  there  would  be  two 
Ministers  for  Foreign  Affairs  in  Germany."  The  Count  then 
proceeded  to  further  develop  this  point  of  view,  illustrating  it  by 
examples. 

Monday,  October  24//^.  —  Strange  news  comes  from  Mar- 
seilles. It  appears  that  the  Red  Republicans  have  there  gained 
the  upper  hand.  Esquiros,  the  Prefect  of  the  Mouths  of  the 
Rhone,  belongs  to  this  variety  of  French  Republicans.  He 
has  suj^prcssed  the  Gazette  du  Midi,  because  the  clubs  of  his 
party  maintain  that  it  favours  the  candidature  of  the  Comtc  de 
Chambord,  whose  proclamation  it  has  published.  He  has  also 
expelled  the  Jesuits.  A  decree  has  been  issued  by  Gambetta, 
declaring  the  Prefect  to  be  dismissed,  and  his  measures  against 
the  newspaper  mentioned  and  the  Jesuits  to  be  abrogated. 
Esquiros,  however,  supported  by  the  working  classes,  has  de- 
clined to  obey  this  order  of  the  Government  Delegation  at 
Tours,  and  continues  to  hold  his  post.  The  Gazette  du  Midi 
is  still  suppressed,  and  the  Jesuits  are  expelled.  Just  as  little 
heed  was  paid  to  Gambetta's  decree  disbanding  the  Civic 
Guard,  which  was  recruited  from  Red  Re])ublicans,  and  is  not 
to  be  confounded  with  the  Marseilles  National  Guard.  The 
Chief  remarked  with  reference  to  this  news :  "  It  looks  as  if 
things  were  tending  towards  civil  war ;  and  it  is  i)ossible  that 
we  may  shortly  have  a  Republic  of   South   P'rancc."     I  worked 


1870]  rill':   WAR    INDEMNITY  201 

up  this  news  into  paragraphs,  written  in  the  sense  of  the  fore- 
going comment. 

At  4  o'clock  M.  (iauthier,  who  comes  from  Chislehurst, 
called  upon  the  Chancellor. 

Tuesday,  October  2^th.  — This  morning  the  Chief  said,  in 
reference  to  a  statement  in  the  Pays  mentioning  an  indemnity 
of  three  and  a  half  milliards :  "  Nonsense !  I  shall  demand 
much  more  than  that !  " 

During  dinner  the  subject  of  "  William  Tell "  was  intro- 
duced, I  cannot  now  remember  how,  and  the  Minister  confessed 
that,  even  as  a  boy,  he  could  not  endure  that  character ;  first, 
because  he  shot  at  his  own  son,  and  secondly,  because  he  killed 
Gessler  in  a  treacherous  way.  "  It  would  have  been  more 
natural  and  noble  to  my  mind  if,  instead  of  shooting  at  the 
boy,  for  after  all  the  best  archer  might  hit  him  instead  of  the 
apple,  he  had  immediately  shot  down  the  Governor.  That 
would  have  been  legitimate  wrath  provoked  by  a  cruel  com- 
mand. But  the  lurking  and  skulking  is  not  to  my  taste.  It  is 
not  the  proper  style  for  a  hero,  not  even  for  franctireurs." 

Two  copies  of  the  Noiivelliste  are  pasted  up  daily  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  town,  and  are  read  by  the  people,  although, 
when  a  German  passes  by,  the  group  engaged  in  perusing  them 
greets  him  with  such  criticisms  as,  "  Mensojiges  !  "  or  ^^Impossi- 
ble !  "  One  of  Stieber's  attendant  spirits,  or  some  other  guar- 
dian of  the  truth,  caught  a  working  man  to-day  in  the  act 
of  writing  the  word  "  Blague  "  on  one  of  the  copies  posted  up  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Prefecture.  It  is  said  that  he  is  to 
be  transported  to  Germany. 

Wednesday,  October  26th. — In  the  morning  I  translated 
Granville's  despatch  for  the  King,  and  afterwards  prepared  an 
abstract  of  it  for  the  press.  The  latter  was  accompanied  by 
the  remark  that  we  had  already  twice  offered  the  French 
an  armistice  on  favourable  terms,  once  through  Favre,  and 
again,  on  the  9th  of  October,  through  Burnside,  but  that  they 
would  not  accept  it  because  we  desired  it.  Then  telegraphed 
to  London  that  Thiers  is  receiving  a  safe  conduct  to  our  head- 
quarters and  permission  to  proceed  thence  to  Paris.  Also  that 
the  Comte  de  Chambord  had  a  meeting  at  Coppet  with  the 
Comte  de  Paris. 

In  the  evening  I  wrote  another  article  on  the  instructions 


202  MEIZ   (AriTULATES  [Oct.  29 

of  the  Chief  to  the  following  effect.  It  is  rumoured  that 
Vienna  dii)lomacy  has  again  taken  steps  to  induce  the  Ger- 
mans to  grant  an  armistice.  We  find  it  difficult  to  credit  this 
report.  The  only  advantage  to  the  French  of  an  armistice  at 
the  present  moment  would  be  to  strengthen  their  resistance 
and  to  render  it  more  difficult  for  us  to  enforce  the  conditions 
which  we  recognise  as  essential.  Can  that  be  the  object  Aus- 
tria has  in  view  in  taking  this  measure .-'  The  following  con- 
siderations are  of  an  obvious  nature.  If  the  authorities  in 
Vienna  deprive  us  of  the  fruits  of  our  victory,  if  we  are  pre- 
vented from  securing  that  safe  western  frontier  which  we  are 
striving  to  win,  a  new  war  with  France  is  unavoidable,  or 
rather  the  continuation  of  the  one  thus  interrupted.  It  is 
quite  clear  where  in  such  circumstances  France  would  seek 
allies  and  probably  find  them.  It  is  equally  certain  that  in 
that  case  Germany  would  not  wait  until  the  recovery  of  France 
from  her  present  chaotic  condition,  which  would  be  promoted 
by  a  cessation  of  the  war  now  in  progress.  Germany  would  be 
obliged  to  deal  first  with  this  future  ally  of  France  and  to  seek 
to  render  it  powerless,  and  the  latter  standing  alone  would  have 
to  bear  the  cost  of  its  own  act  in  preventing  us  from  attaining 
our  present  object.  In  other  words,  it  might  then  happen  that 
Austria  would  have  to  compensate  us  by  the  cession  of  Bohemia 
for  the  loss  of  Lorraine,  which  it  once  before  alienated  from  the 
German  I-Lmpire. 

Friday,  October  28///. — In  the  afternoon  Moltkc  sent  the 
Chief  a  telegram  which  reported  that  the  cajiitulation  of  Metz 
was  signed  to-day  at  12.45  •'•^f-  The  French  army  thus  made 
prisoners  number  in  all  173,000  men,  including  16,000  sick  and 
wounded.  Hennigsen,  Friedenthal,  and  Von  Blankenburg,  a 
friend  of  the  Chancellor's  in  his  youth,  joined  us  at  dinner. 
From  the  French  officers  captured  at  Metz  and  their  approach- 
ing transportation  to  Germany,  the  conversation  turned  upon 
General  Ducrot  and  his  disgraceful  escape  from  Pont  a  Mous- 
son.  The  Minister  said:  "He  has  written  me  a  long  letter 
explaining  that  there  is  no  foundation  for  the  charge  of  breach 
of  faith  we  hav^e  brought  against  him,  but  he  has  not  materially 
modified  my  view  of  the  case."  The  Chief  then  related  that 
recently  an  "  intermediary  of  Gambi:tta's  "  had  called  upon  him, 
and  that  towards  the  close  of  the  conversation  he  asked  whether 


iSyoJ  A    WlllSr    rARIV    lOK    WIIJIKLMSi'IoHF,  203 

we  vvoukl  rcco_<;ni.sc  the  Republic.  "  I  replied,"  continued  the 
Chief,  "certainly,  without  any  doubt  or  hesitation.  Not  only 
the  Republic,  but,  if  you  like,  a  (lanibetta  dynasty ;  only  it 
must  secure  us  the  advanta<]^es  of  a  safe  peace."  "  Or  for  the 
matter  of  that  any  dynasty,  whether  it  be  a  Bleichroder  or  a 
Rothschild  one." 

The  NoiivcUistc  is  to  be  stojiped,  and  to  be  replaced  by  a 
journal  of  larger  size  bearing  the  title,  Moiii/air  Officicl  dc 
Seine  ct  Oisc,  which  will  be  published  at  the  expense  of  the 
Government. 

Saturday,  October  29///.  —  At  dinner  our  great  success  at 
Metz  was  discussed.  "  That  exactly  doubles  the  number  of  our 
prisoners,"  said  the  Minister — "no,  it  does  more.  We  now 
have  in  Germany  the  army  which  Napoleon  had  in  the  field  at 
the  time  of  the  battles  of  Weissenburg,  Worth,  and  Saar- 
briicken,  with  the  exception  of  those  whom  we  killed.  The 
troops  which  the  French  now  have  were  afterwards  brought 
from  Algiers  and  Rome,  and  newly  recruited,  together  with  a 
few  thousand  men  under  Vincy  who  made  off  before  Sedan. 
We  have  also  nearly  all  their  generals."  The  Chief  then  said 
Napoleon  had  requested  that  Marshals  Bazaine,  Leboeuf,  and 
Canrobert,  who  had  been  taken  at  Metz,  should  be  sent  to  him 
at  Wilhclmshohe.  The  Minister  added  :  "  That  would  make  a 
whist  party.  I  have  no  objection,  and  shall  recommend  the 
King  to  do  so."  He  then  went  on  to  say  that  so  many  extraor- 
dinary events  which  no  one  could  have  imagined  previously 
were  now  of  daily  occurrence  that  one  might  regard  the  most 
wonderful  as  being  within  the  range  of  possibility.  "  Amongst 
other  things  it  might  well  happen  that  we  should  hold  a  Ger- 
man Reichstag  in  Versailles,  while  Napoleon  might  summon 
the  Legislative  Chamber  and  the  Senate  to  Cassel  to  consider 
the  terms  of  peace.  Napoleon  is  convinced  that  the  former 
representative  body  is  still  legally  in  existence,  an  opinion 
against  which  there  is  little  to  be  said,  and  that  he  could  sum- 
mon it  to  meet  wherever  he  liked  —  of  course,  however,  only 
in  France.  Cassel  would  be  a  debatable  question."  The  Chief 
then  said  that  he  had  invited  the  representatives  of  the  parties 
"with  whom  it  is  possible  to  discuss  matters  "  —  Friedenthal, 
Bennigsen,  and  l^lankenburg  —  to  come  here  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain   their    views    respecting    a    session    of    our    Parliament   at 


204  LOAFERS   AT   HEADQUARTERS  [Oct.  29,  1870 

Versailles.  "  I  was  obliged  to  omit  the  Progressist  party,  as 
they  only  desire  what  is  not  possible.  They  are  like  Russians, 
who  eat  cherries  in  winter  and  want  oysters  in  summer.  When 
a  Russian  goes  into  a  shop  he  asks  for  Kaknj'e  bud,  that  is  to 
say,  for  what  does  not  exist." 

After  the  first  course  Prince  Albrecht,  the  father,  came  in 
and  took  a  seat  on  the  Chief's  right.  The  old  gentleman,  like 
a  genuine  Prussian  Prince  always  gallant  and  loyal  to  his  duty, 
has  pressed  forward  with  his  cavalry  beyond  Orleans.  He  tells 
us  that  the  engagement  in  Chateaudun  was  "horrible."  He 
warmly  praised  the  Duke  of  Meiningen,  who  had  also  shirked 
no  danger  or  privation.  On  this  the  Chief  remarked  :  "  I  have 
nothing  to  say  against  Princes  who  go  with  the  army  and  as 
officers  and  leaders  share  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  the 
soldiers.  But  I  should  prefer  to  see  those  who  loaf  around 
here  at  Puckler's  expense,  and  who  are  mere  spectators  of  the 
man-hunt,  anywhere  rather  than  at  headquarters.  It  is  all  the 
more  unpleasant  to  me  to  have  them  here,  as  they  storm  me 
with  questions  and  force  wise  counsels  upon  me  respecting 
matters  that  are  in  course  of  development  and  which  are  now 
being  worked  out."  ...  "  May  I  ask,"  said  the  Prince  (doubt- 
less to  get  away  from  this  subject),  "how  the  Countess  is .-' " 
"  Oh,  she  is  quite  well,"  replied  the  Chief,  "  now  that  our  son 
is  better.  She  still  suffers  from  her  ferocious  hatred  of  the 
Gauls,  all  of  whom  she  would  wish  to  see  shot  and  stabbed  to 
death,  down  to  the  little  babies  ^ — who  after  all  cannot  help 
having  such  abominable  parents." 


CHAPTER   XI 

THIERS     AND     THE     FIRST    NEGOTIATIONS     FOR     AN     ARMISTICE     AT 

VERSAILLES 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  October,  while  taking  a  walk 
along  the  Avenue  de  Saint  Cloud,  I  met  Bennigsen,  who  was 
to  start  for  home  with  Blankenburg  in  a  few  days.  On  my 
asking  what  progress  had  been  made  in  Germany  with  the 
question  of  unity,  he  said  that  the  prospects  were  very  good. 
The  only  point  which  the  Bavarians  still  insisted  upon  was  a 
certain  degree  of  independence  for  their  army.  The  feeling 
amongst  the  majority  of  the  people  was  all  that  could  be  desired. 

On  my  return  to  the  house  a  little  after  10  o'clock  Engel 
told  me  that  Thiers  had  arrived  shortly  before  but  had  left 
again  almost  immediately.  He  had  come  from  Tours,  and  had 
only  called  to  get  a  safe  conduct  through  our  lines,  as  he  wished 
to  go  to  Paris.  Hatzfeld  had  breakfasted  with  Thiers  at  the 
Hotel  des  Reservoirs,  and  afterward  saw  him  into  the  carriage, 
in  which,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  von  Winterfeldt,  he  was 
conducted  to  the  French  outposts.  He  told  us  at  lunch  that 
Thiers  "  still  remained  the  same  bright  witty  old  gentleman, 
but  was  weak  as  a  baby."  Hatzfeld  had  been  the  first  to  recog- 
nise him  on  his  calling  at  our  place,  and  told  him  that  the  Chief 
was  just  getting  up.  He  then  showed  him  into  the  salon,  and 
informed  the  Minister,  who  hastily  finished  his  toilet  and  shortly 
afterwards  came  down.  They  were,  however,  only  together 
alone  for  a  few  minutes,  the  Chief  then  instructing  Hatzfeld 
to  make  the  necessary  preparations  for  Thiers'  visit  to  Paris. 
The  Minister  afterwards  told  Hatzfeld  that  Thiers  said  to  him, 
immediately  after  they  had  exchanged  greetings,  that  he  had 
not  come  to  speak  to  him.  "That  strikes  me  as  quite  natural," 
added  Hatzfeld,  "  as,  although  Thiers  would  like  to  conclude 
peace  with  us  (just  because  it  would  be  Thiers'  peace,  since  he 
is  terribly  ambitious),  he  does  not  know  what  the  people  in  Paris 
would  sav  to  it." 

205 


206  TIIILRS'    FIRST    VISIT  [(3cT.  31 

In  the  meantime  the  Chief  had  ridden  off  with  his  cousin  to 
the  review  of  9,000  Landwehr  Guards  which  was  being  held 
this  morning  by  the  King.  At  luncheon  the  Chief  referred  to 
the  Landv/ehr,  who  had  arrived  that  morning,  and  said  they 
were  all  broad-shouldered  fellows,  who  must  have  impressed 
the  people  of  X'ersailles.  "The  front  of  one  of  their  companies 
is  at  least  five  feet  broader  than  that  of  a  French  company,  par- 
ticularly in  the  Pomeranian  Landwehr."  The  Minister  then 
turned  to  liatzfeld,  and  said:  "I  hope  you  have  not  mentioned 
anything  about  Mctz  to  Thiers."  "No,  and  he  also  said  noth- 
ing about  it,  although  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  knows."  "  He 
certainly  does,  but  I  did  not  speak  about  it  either."  Hatzfeld 
then  observed  once  more  that  Thiers  was  very  charming  in  his 
manner,  but  had  lost  nothing  of  his  old  vanity  and  self-com- 
placency. As  evidence  of  this  Hatzfeld  mentioned  that  Thiers 
had  told  him  that  a  few  days  before  he  met  a  peasant  whom  he 
asked  whether  he  desired  to  see  peace  concluded.  "  Certainly, 
very  much."  "  Whether  he  knew  who  he  (Thiers)  was.-*"  No, 
the  peasant  replied,  and  appealed  to  a  neighbour  who  had  come 
on  the  scene,  and  who  passed  as  the  oldest  inhabitant.  This 
ancient  was  of  opinion  that  M.  Thiers  must  be  a  member  of  the 
Chamber.  Hatzfeld  added,  "  It  was  obvious  that  Thiers  was 
angry  at  not  being  better  known." 

The  Chief  went  out  for  a  moment,  and  brought  back  a  case 
containing  a  gold  pen,  which  a  jeweller  of  Pforzheim  presented 
to  him  for  the  purpose  of  signing  the  Treaty  of  Peace. 

At  dinner  the  Chief  again  spoke  at  some  length  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  holding  a  session  of  the  German  Reichstag  at  Ver- 
sailles, while  the  French  Legislative  Chamber  should  at  the 
same  time  meet  at  Cassel.  Delbriick  ob.served  that  the  hall  of 
the  Diet  at  Cassel  would  not  be  large  enough  for  such  an 
assembly.  "Well,  then,"  said  the  Chief,  "the  Senate  could  meet 
somewhere  else  —  in  Marburg  or  P'ritzlar,  or  some  similar  town." 

Monday,  October  31^'/. — In  the  morning  wrote  some  articles, 
one  of  which  advocated  the  idea  of  an  international  court  for 
the  trial  of  those  who  had  instigated  this  war  against  us.  Also 
directed  attention  to  the  case  of  M.  Hcrmieux,  the  Comman- 
dant of  a  French  battalion,  who  like  Ducrot  had  broken  his 
word  by  making  his  escape  from  hospital,  and  whose  descrip- 
tion was  now  published  in  the  newspa])ers. 


kSjoJ  (iKRMA.N    rUlbtJNKRS   1\    11-0V\CE  20/ 

Gauthicr  called  a^uin  at  12  o'clock,  and  had  another  long 
interview  with  the  Chiet. 

Hatzfeld  announced  at  tea  that  on  paying  a  visit  early  in 
the  evening  at  the  Hotel  des  Reservoirs  he  learned  by  accident 
that  M.  Thiers  had  returned,  and  he  had  afterwards  spoken  to 
him.  Thiers  informed  him  that  on  the  day  before  he  had  been 
engaged  from  10  o'clock  at  night  until  3  in  the  morning  in 
negotiating  with  the  members  of  the  Provisional  Government ; 
he  rose  again  at  6  a.m.  and  from  that  time  until  2  in  the  after- 
noon received  visitors  of  all  descriptions,  after  which  he  drove 
back  here.  He  wishes  to  have  a  conference  with  the  Chan- 
cellor to-morrow.  "  He  began  to  speak  of  disturbances  having 
taken  place  yesterday  in  Paris,"  continued  Hatzfeld,  "  but  on 
an  exclamation  of  surprise  escaping  me  he  immediately  changed 
the  subject." 

In  the  evening  I  was  instructed  to  sec  that  the  decree 
addressed  to  Vogcl  von  Falkenstein,  and  published  in  the 
Staatsanzcii:!;cr  of  the  27th  instant,  was  reproduced  by  our  other 
papers.  It  was  to  be  accompanied  by  a  collection  of  newspaper 
reports  respecting  the  ill-treatment  of  German  prisoners  by  the 
French.  I  then  began  a  second  article  against  Beust's  interven- 
tion in  our  quarrel  with  the  French,  based  on  the  suggestions  of 
the  Chief,  who  said  it  was  to  be  "  very  sharply  worded."  This, 
however,  was  not  sent  off,  as  the  situation  altered  in  the  mean- 
time. I  reproduce  the  article  here  as  being  characteristic  of  the 
position  of  affairs  at  the  moment.     It  ran  as  follows:  — 

"  If  in  a  struggle  between  two  Powers,  one  of  whom  proves 
obviously  weaker  and  is  at  length  on  the  point  of  being 
defeated,  a  third  Power,  which  has  hitherto  been  neutral,  urges 
an  armistice,  its  motive  must  certainly  be  regarded  less  as 
a  benevolent  desire  for  the  welfare  of  both  parties  than  as 
anxiety  for  the  weaker  State  and  as  evident  partisanship  in 
favour  of  the  same.  It  is,  in  fact,  an  armistice  in  favour  of  the 
Power  that  is  on  the  point  of  being  defeated,  and  to  the  dis- 
advantage of  that  which  has  won  the  upper  hand.  If  this  third 
Power  furthermore  endeavours  to  induce  other  neutral  States 
to  take  similar  action,  thus  strengthening  and  giving  more 
weight  to  its  own  proposal,  then  it  is  clearly  departing  still 
further  from  a  neutral  attitude.  Its  one-sided  warnings  are 
transformed   into    partisan    pressure,    its   proceedings   become 


208  THE   ATTITUDE  OF   AUSTRIA  [Nov.   i 

intrigues,  and  its  whole  action  presents  an  appearance  of 
threatened  violence. 

"This  is  the  case  with  Austria-Hungary  if  it  be  true,  as  the 
Vienna  oflficial  organs  boast,  that  it  has  taken  the  initiative  in  an 
attempt  of  the  neutral  Powers  to  negotiate  an  armistice  between 
defeated  France  and  victorious  Germany.  The  conduct  of 
Count  Beust  becomes  more  clearly  offensive  when  it  is  known 
that  it  was  suggested  by  M.  Chaudordy,  Favre's  representative 
at  Tours,  and  originated  in  a  previous  understanding  between 
the  Vienna  Cabinet  and  the  Delegation  of  the  Provisional 
Government  in  that  city.  The  true  character  of  this  action  on 
the  part  of  Austro-Hungarian  diplomacy  as  a  hostile  interfer- 
ence in  our  settlement  with  P* ranee  becomes  more  manifest 
from  the  manner  in  which  its  representative  in  Berlin  supports 
the  English  suggestions.  The  British  Foreign  OfBce  adopts 
a  tone  of  perfect  impartiality,  and  of  benevolence  towards  Ger- 
many; the  Italians  do  the  same,  while  the  Russian  representa- 
tive has  kept  entirely  aloof  from  all  intervention.  All  three 
Powers  have  done  their  utmost  at  Tours  to  promote  an  unpreju- 
diced and  reasonable  view  of  the  situation  on  the  part  of  the 
French.  On  the  other  hand,  the  despatches  read  by  Herr  von 
Wimpffen  in  Berlin  (we  do  not  know  what  Austria-Hungary 
has  advised  at  Tours)  speak  in  a  tone  which  is  anything  but 
friendly.  They  emphasise  the  statement  that  Vienna  still 
believes  in  general  European  interests.  The  authorities  there 
fear  that  history  would  condemn  the  neutral  Powers  if  the  ca- 
tastrophe which  is  threatening  Paris  were  to  occur  without  a 
voice  being  raised  on  their  part  to  avert  it.  It  is  evidently 
intended  as  a  severe  and  offensive  censure  when  they  say 
humanity  demands  that  the  conditions  of  peace  should  be  made 
less  onerous  for  the  vanquished,  but  that  Germany  will  not  per- 
mit any  voice  to  reach  the  ears  of  its  defeated  foe  except  that 
which  proclaims  the  commands  of  the  victor.  The  whole  de- 
spatch is  characterised  throughout  by  a  vein  of  irony  which  dis- 
tinguishes it  in  a  manner  little  to  its  advantage  from  that  of  the 
English  Government. 

"  From  all  these  circumstances  it  is  as  clear  that  the  action 
of  Count  Beust  is  guided  by  hostile  intentions  towards  us  as 
that  Lord  Granville's  attitude  is  based  on  good  will.  We 
wonder  if  the  Vienna  Chancellor  well  considered  the  possible 


1S70J  NO   QUARTKR    FOR   FRAXCIIREUKS  209 

consequences  of  this  new  manoeuvre.  It  is  not  probable  after 
the  fall  of  Metz  that  the  attempt  made  by  Austria  to  hinder 
Germany  in  the  complete  attainment  of  that  peace  which  we 
have  in  view  with  the  object  of  securing  a  safe  Western  frontier 
will  be  successful.  But  we  shall  remember  that  attempts  to 
prejudice  our  interests  and  the  good  impression  made  in  Ger- 
many by  the  previous  neutrality  of  Austria-Hungary  will  be 
destroyed,  and  a  friendly  rapprocJiement  with  the  dual  monarchy, 
a  basis  for  which  was  being  laid,  will  be  postponed  —  probably 
for  a  considerable  time.  But  let  us  consider  another  possibility. 
Take  it  that  through  the  intervention  of  Count  Beust  the  de- 
mands which  we  make  upon  France  are  curtailed,  and  that  we 
are  actually  obliged  to  renounce  a  portion  of  the  old  and  new 
debts  which  w^e  are  on  the  point  of  collecting  —  does  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Empire  believe  that  we  shall 
not  remember  at  the  first  opportunity  to  make  our  ill-disposed 
neighbour  on  the  South-East  compensate  us  for  what  he  helped 
to  deprive  us  of  in  the  West .''  Does  he  believe  that  we  shall 
foolishly  put  off  the  day  of  reckoning  with  a  neighbour  who 
takes  every  opportunity  of  displaying  his  hostility,  until  his 
French  protegi  has  recovered  sufficiently  to  give  him  the  sup- 
port of  a  more  valuable  alliance  in  gratitude  for  the  assistance 
given  against  Germany  .-'  " 

Tuesday,  November  \st.  —  At  dinner  Bohlen  reported  that 
the  Coburger  is  doing  his  utmost  to  create  a  feeling  of  dis- 
content—  he  says  nothing  happens,  nothing  is  being  done,  no 
progress  is  being  made.  "  What !  He  !  "  exclaimed  the  Chief, 
wath  an  indescribable  expression  of  contempt  on  his  features. 
"  He  should  be  ashamed  of  himself.  These  Princes  that  follow 
the  army  like  a  flight  of  vultures  !  These  carrion  crows,  who 
themselves  do  nothing  whatever  except  inspect  the  battlefields, 
&c."  Some  one  then  spoke  of  the  last  engagement,  and  said 
that  a  portion  of  the  1200  prisoners  that  had  been  taken  were 
franctireurs.  "  Prisoners  !  "  broke  in  the  Chief,  who  still  seemed 
to  be  extremely  angry.  "  Why  do  they  continue  to  make 
prisoners  .-•  They  should  have  shot  down  the  whole  1200  one 
after  the  other." 

Mention  was  made  of  the  decree  of  the  Minister  of  War  or 
of  the  Commandant  of  the  Town,  ordering  that  particulars 
should  be  published  of  all  valuables  found  in  houses  deserted 


2IO  TIllKRS'    LOOK    OF   SURrRlSK  [Nov.  2 

by  their  owners,  and  that  if  not  reclaimed  within  a  certain  time 
they  were  to  be  confiscated  for  the  benefit  of  the  war  chest. 
The  Minister  said  that  he  considered  this  decree  to  be  perfectly 
justified,  adding :  "  As  a  matter  of  fact  such  houses  should  be 
burned  to  the  ground,  only  that  punishment  would  also  fall  in 
part  on  the  sensible  people  who  have  remained  behind ;  and 
so  unfortunately  it  is  out  of  the  question."  The  Chief  then 
observed,  after  a  pause,  and  apparently  without  any  connection 
with  what  had  been  previously  said:  "  After  all,  war  is,  properly 
speaking,  the  natural  condition  of  humanity."  He  remained 
silent  for  a  while,  and  then  remarked:  "It  just  occurs  to  me 
that  the  Bavarian  proposes  to  surprise  me  to-day,"  by  which  he 
meant  that  Count  Bray  was  about  to  visit  him.  This  led  the 
conversation  to  the  Bavarian  Ambassador  in  Berlin,  Pergler  von 
Perglas,  of  whom  the  Chief  does  not  appear  to  have  a  high 
opinion.  "  He  is  as  bad  as  he  can  be.  I  do  not  say  that 
because  he  is  a  particularist,  as  I  do  not  know  how  I  should 
think  myself  if  I  were  a  Bavarian.  But  he  has  always  been  in 
favour  of  the  French."  (The  Minister  maintained,  if  I  heard 
him  rightly,  that  this  was  owing  to  his  wife.)  "I  never  tell  him 
anything  when  he  comes  to  me,  or  at  least  not  the  truth." 

Shortly  afterwards  the  Chief  told  us  that  Thiers  had  been 
with  him  for  about  three  hours  to-day  with  the  object  of  nego- 
tiating an  armistice.  Probably,  however,  it  would  not  be  pos- 
sible to  come  to  an  understanding  as  to  the  conditions  which  he 
proposes  or  is  prepared  to  grant.  Once  during  the  conversa- 
tion Thiers  wished  to  speak  of  the  suj^ply  of  provisions  now  in 
Paris  ;  but  the  Minister  interrupted  him,  saying,  "  I-2xcuse  me, 
but  wc  know  that  better  than  you  who  have  only  been  in  the 
city  for  one  day.  Their  store  of  provisions  is  sufficient  to  last 
until  the  end  of  January."  "  What  a  look  of  surjirise  he  gave 
me  !  My  remark  was  only  a  feeler,  and  his  astonishment 
showed  that  what   I   had  said  was  not  true." 

At  dessert  the  Minister  spoke  of  the  large  quantity  he  had 
eaten.  "  But  then  it  is  my  only  meal.  It  is  true  I  take  break- 
fast, but  then  it  is  merely  a  cup  of  tea  without  milk  and  two 
eggs,  —  and  after  that  nothing  till  evening.  Then  I  oxcrc.it 
myself,  like  a  boa  constiictor,  and  can't  sleep.  I''.ven  as  a  child, 
;ind  ever  since  that  time,  I  have  ahvavs  gone  to  bed  late,  never 
IjL-fore  midnight.      I   usualh'  fall   asleep  quickly,  but  wake  soon 


icSyo]  THIERS   AS   A   NEGOTIATOR  211 

again  and  find  that  it  is  not  more  than  half-past  one  o'clock. 
All  sorts  of  things  then  come  into  my  head,  particularly  if  I 
have  been  unfairly  treated,  —  and  that  must  be  all  thought  out. 
I  afterwards  write  letters,  and  even  despatches,  but  of  course 
without  getting  up  —  simply  in  my  head.  Formerly,  for  some 
time  after  my  appointment  as  Minister,  I  used  to  get  up  and 
actually  write  them  down.  When  I  read  them  over  next  morn- 
ing, however,  they  were  worth  nothing, — mere  platitudes,  con- 
fused trivial  stuff  such  as  might  have  appeared  in  the  Vossische 
ZcitiDig,  or  might  have  been  composed  by  his  Serene  Highness 
of  Weimar.  I  do  not  want  to,  I  should  prefer  to  sleep.  But 
the  thinking  and  planning  goes  on.  At  the  first  glimmer  of 
dawn  I  fall  off  again,  and  then  sleep  till  ten  o'clock  or  even 
later." 

Wednesday,  November  2nd.  —  On  returning  from  a  long 
walk  at  about  4.30  p.m.  I  heard  that  Thiers  had  remained  with 
the  Chief  until  a  few  minutes  before,  and  looked  rather  pleased 
on  taking  his  leave.  During  dinner  the  Minister  observed, 
referring  to  his  visitor  of  to-day  :  "  He  is  a  clever  and  amiable 
man,  bright  and  witty,  but  with  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  diplo- 
matist—  too  sentimental  for  that  trade."  "He  is  unques- 
tionably a  finer  nature  than  Favre.  But  he  is  no  good  as  a 
ViQ,go\\2iXQX  {UiitcrJidiidlei')  —  not  even  as  a  horsedealer  {^Pferde- 
hdudlery  "  He  is  too  easily  bluffed,  betrays  his  feelings,  and 
allows  himself  to  be  pumped.  Thus  I  have  ascertained  all  sorts 
of  things  from  him,  amongst  others  that  they  have  only  full 
rations  in  Paris  for  three  or  four  weeks." 

With  respect  to  our  attitude  towards  the  approaching 
French  elections,  I  called  attention  in  the  press  to  the  follow- 
ing example,  which  may  decide  us  to  exclude  Alsace-Lorraine 
from  the  voting,  and  to  which  we  can  refer  those  who  allege 
such  an  exclusion  to  be  unprecedented.  An  American  informs 
us  that  in  the  last  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico 
an  armistice  was  agreed  upon  with  the  object  of  giving  the 
Mexicans  time  to  choose  a  new  Government,  which  should  con- 
clude peace  with  the  United  States.  The  provinces,  the  ces- 
sion of  which  was  demanded  by  the  United  States,  were  not 
permitted  to  take  part  in  this  election.  This  is  the  sole  prece- 
dent, but  it  entirely  covers  the  present  case. 

Thursday,    November    yd.— A    fine    bright    morning.     Al- 


212  WHAT  THE   BERLIXEKS  TIHNK   OF   THEMSELVES       [Nov.  4 

ready  at  7  a.m.  the  iron  lions  on  Mont  Valerien  began  to  fill 
the  surrounding  wooded  valleys  with  their  roaring. 

I  make  abstracts  for  the  King  of  two  articles  that  appeared 
in  the  Morning  Post  of  the  28th  and  29th  of  October,  which 
are  understood  to  have  come  from  Persigny  or  Prince  Napo- 
leon. The  assertion  in  these  articles  that  in  the  negotiations 
with  the  delegate  of  the  Empress  our  demand  extended  only  to 
Strasburg,  and  a  narrow  strip  of  land  in  the  Saar  district,  with 
about  a  quarter  of  a  million  inhabitants,  is  (the  Chief  tells  me) 
based  on  a  misunderstanding. 

I  am  instructed  to  telegraph  that  in  consequence  of  yester- 
day's negotiations  the  Chancellor  has  offered  M.  Thiers  a  truce 
of  twenty-five  days  on  the  basis  of  the  military  status  quo. 
Thiers  returned  at  12  o'clock,  and  negotiated  with  the  Chief 
until  2.30  P.M.  The  demands  of  the  French  are  exorbitant. 
At  lunch  we  hear  that  in  addition  to  a  twenty-eight  days'  armis- 
tice for  the  elections  and  the  meeting  of  the  National  Assembly 
thus  chosen  to  determine  the  position  of  the  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment, they  demand  nothing  less  than  the  right  to  provision 
Paris  and  all  other  fortresses  held  by  them  and  besieged  by  us, 
and  the  participation  of  the  Eastern  provinces,  of  which  we 
require  the  cession  in  the  elections.  Ordinary  logic  finds  it 
difficult  to  conceive  how  the  provisioning  of  fortresses  can  be 
deemed  consistent  with  the  maintenance  of  the  military  status 
quo. 

Amongst  other  subjects  discussed  at  dinner  were  the  elec- 
tions in  Berlin.  Delbruck  was  of  opinion  that  they  would  be 
more  favourable  than  hitherto.  Jacoby,  at  any  rate,  would  not 
be  reelected.  Count  Bismarck-Bohlen  thought  otherwise.  He 
anticipated  no  change.  The  Chancellor  said:  —  "The  Berliners 
must  always  be  in  opposition  and  have  their  own  ideas.  They 
have  their  virtues  —  many  and  highly  estimable  ones  —  they 
fight  well,  but  they  would  not  consider  themselves  to  be  as 
clever  as  they  ought  to  be  unless  they  knew  everything  better 
than  the  Government."  That  failing,  however,  was  not  con- 
fined to  Berliners,  the  Chief  added.  All  great  cities  were  much 
the  same  in  that  respect,  and  many  were  even  worse  than  Ber- 
lin. They  were  in  general  more  unpractical  than  the  rural 
districts,  where  people  were  in  closer  contact  with  nature 
and    thus    got    into    a    more    natural    and    practical    way    of 


1S70J  LONDON   COCKNEYS  213 

thinking.  "  Where  great  numbers  of  men  are  crowded  to- 
gether they  easily  lose  their  individuality  and  dissolve  into  one 
mass.  All  sorts  of  opinions  are  in  the  air,  they  arise  from  hear- 
say and  repetition,  and  are  little  or  not  at  all  founded  on  facts, 
but  are  propagated  by  the  newspapers,  popular  meetings,  and 
conversations  over  beer,  and  then  remain  firmly,  immutably 
rooted.  It  is  a  sort  of  false  second  nature,  a  faith  or  supersti- 
tion held  collectively  by  the  masses.  They  reason  themselves 
into  believing  in  something  that  does  not  exist,  consider  them- 
selves in  duty  bound  to  hold  to  that  belief,  and  wax  enthusiastic 
over  narrow-minded  and  grotesque  ideas.  That  is  the  case  in 
all  great  cities,  in  London  for  instance,  where  the  cockneys  are 
quite  a  different  race  to  other  Englishmen  —  in  Copenhagen,  in 
New  York,  and  above  all  in  Paris.  The  Parisians,  with  their 
political  superstitions,  are  quite  a  distinct  people  in  France,  — 
they  are  caught  and  bound  up  in  a  circle  of  ideas  which  are  a 
sacred  tradition  to  them,  although  when  closely  examined  they 
turn  out  to  be  mere  empty  phrases." 

So  far  as  Thiers  was  concerned,  the  Minister  only  told  us 
that  shortly  after  the  commencement  of  their  conference  to-day 
he  suddenly  asked  him  whether  he  had  obtained  the  authority 
necessary  for  the  continuance  of  the  negotiations.  "  He  looked 
at  me  in  astonishment,  on  which  I  said  that  news  had  been 
received  at  our  outposts  of  a  revolution  having  broken  out  in 
Paris  since  his  departure,  and  that  a  new  Government  had  been 
proclaimed.  He  was  visibly  perturbed,  from  which  it  may  be 
inferred  that  he  considers  a  victory  of  the  Red  Republicans  as 
possible,  and  the  position  of  Favre  and  Trochu  as  insecure." 

Thiers  was  again  with  the  Chief  from  9  o'clock  till  after  10. 

Friday,  November  ^tJi.  —  Beautiful  bright  morning.  At  the 
desire  of  the  Minister  I  send  the  Daily  Neivs  an  account  of  his 
conversation  with  Napoleon  at  Donchery.  He  had  principally 
conversed  with  the  Emperor  within  the  weaver's  house,  upstairs 
—  for  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour — and  spent  but  a  short 
time  with  him  in  the  open  air,  as  the  Minister  himself  stated  in  his 
official  report  to  the  King.  Furthermore,  in  speaking  to  Napo- 
leon, he  had  not  pointed  the  forefinger  of  the  left  hand  into 
the  palm  of  his  right,  which  was  not  at  all  a  habit  of  his.  He 
had  not  once  made  use  of  the  German  language  in  speaking  to 
the  Emperor — he  had  never  done  so,  and  also   not   on   that 


2T4  THE   PROPOSED   BOMBARDMENT  [Nov.  5 

occasion.  "  I  did,  however,"  the  Minister  continued,  "  speak 
German  to  the  people  of  the  house,  as  the  man  understood  a 
little  and  the  woman  spoke  it  very  well." 

From  1 1  o'clock  onwards  Thiers  conferred  once  more  with 
the  Chancellor.  He  yesterday  sent  his  companion,  a  M. 
Cochery,  back  to  Paris,  to  ascertain  if  the  Government  of  the 
4th  of  September  still  existed.  The  answer  appears  to  have 
been  in  the  affirmative. 

Bamberger  dined  with  us.  The  Chief  said,  amongst  other 
things :  —  "I  see  that  some  newspapers  hold  me  responsible 
that  Paris  has  not  yet  been  bombarded.  I  do  not  want  any- 
thing serious  to  be  done,  I  object  to  a  bombardment.  Nonsense  ! 
They  will  ultimately  make  me  responsible  for  our  losses  during 
the  siege,  which  arc  certainly  already  considerable,  as  we  have 
probably  lost  more  men  in  these  small  engagements  than  a 
general  attack  would  have  cost  us.  I  wanted  the  city  to  be 
stormed  at  once,  and  have  all  along  desired  that  it  be  done  — 
or  it  would  have  been  still  better  to  have  left  Paris  on  one  side 
and  continued  our  march." 

Thiers  was  once  more  with  the  Chief  from  9  p.m.  until  after 
1 1  o'clock.  While  they  were  conferring  a  telegram  arrived 
announcing  that  Beust  has  abandoned  his  former  attitude  in 
so  far  as  he  declares  that  if  Russia  raises  objections  to  the 
Prussian  demands  upon  France,  Austria  will  do  the  same, 
but  otherwise  not.    This  telegram  was  at  once  sent  in  to  the  Chief. 

Saturday,  Novcvibcr  i^tJi.  —  About  one  o'clock  there  was  a 
short  conference  between  the  Chancellor,  Delbriick,  and  other 
German  Ministers.  We  afterwards  ascertained  that  the  Chief 
reported  the  result  of  his  negotiations  with  Thiers,  and  also 
announced  the  impending  arrival  of  the  German  sovereigns  not 
yet  rej^resented  at  Versailles. 

On  our  sitting  down  to  dinner  Delbriick  was  at  first  the 
only  Minister  present.  Later  on  we  were  joined  by  the  Chan- 
cellor, who  had  dined  with  the  King.  While  P^ngel  was  pour- 
ing him  out  a  glass  of  spirits  the  Chief  recalled  a  pretty  dictum. 
Recently  a  General  (if  I  am  not  mistaken  it  was  at  PY-rri^res, 
and  I  fancy  I  heard  the  name  of  the  great  thinker,  Moltke), 
speaking  of  the  various  beverages  of  mankind,  laid  down  the 
following  principle  : — "  Red  wine  for  children,  champagne  for 
men,  and  brandy  for  generals." 


1S70]  TIIIO   SKRKXK    HIGHNESSES  215 

The  Chancellor,  who  had  been  dining  with  the  King,  joined 
us  in  the  evening  and  complained  to  Delbfuck  of  the  way  in 
which  he  had  been  beset  at  the  King's  quarters  by  the  Princes, 
who  prevented  him  from  discussing  something  of  imj)ortance 
with  Kutusoff.  "  I  really  could  not  talk  to  him  properly.  The 
Serene  Highnesses  H uttered  about  me  like  crows  round  a 
screech-owl,  and  t(M"e  me  away  from  him.  Each  of  them  seemed 
to  delight  in  being  able  to  buttonhole  me  longer  than  the  others. 
At  length  I  asked  Prince  Charles  if  he  could  not  get  his  brother- 
in-law  to  wait  until  I  had  finished  what  I  had  to  say  to  Kutu- 
soff, as  it  was  an  important  matter  of  State.  But  although  I 
have  often  spoken  to  him  previously  in  the  same  sense  he  did 
not  seem  to  understand  me,  and  the  end  of  it  was  that  he  took 
offence."  ...  "At  last  they  heard  that  the  leg  or  the  back  of 
the  old  coronation  chair  had  been  discovered  in  one  of  the 
other  rooms,  and  they  all  trooped  off  to  inspect  the  wonder, 
while  I  took  this  opportunity  to  bolt."  At  that  moment  a 
despatch  was  delivered  stating  that  Favre  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Government  in  Paris  had  once  more  got  on  the  high 
horse,  and  proclaimed  that  they  would  not  hear  of  a  cession  of 
territory,  and  that  their  sole  task  was  the  defence  of  the  father- 
land. The  Chief  observed  :  —  "  Well,  then,  we  need  not  nego- 
tiate any  further  with  Thiers." 

Later  on  the  Minister  said  that  Thiers  probably  still  intended 
to  write  another  historical  work.  "  Time  after  time  he  spins 
out  our  negotiation  by  introducing  irrelevant  matters.  He  re- 
lates what  has  occurred  or  been  advised  here  and  there,  inquires 
as  to  the  attitude  of  this  or  that  person,  and  what  would  have 
happened  in  such  and  such  circumstances.  He  reminded  me  of 
a  conversation  I  had  with  the  Due  de  Bauffremont  in  the  year 
1867,  in  the  course  of  which  I  said  that  in  1866  the  Emperor 
had  not  understood  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  situation,  that 
he  could  have  done  a  good  stroke  of  business  although  not  on 
German  soil,  &c.  Roughly  that  is  quite  correct.  I  remember 
it  very  well.  It  was  in  the  gardens  of  the  Tuileries,  and  a  mili- 
tary band  was  playing.  In  the  summer  of  1866  Napoleon 
lacked  courage  to  do  what  he  ought  to  have  done  from  his 
point  of   view.     When  we    attacked  Austria    he    should   have 

occupied the  object  of  the  Benedetti  proposal,   and  held  it 

as  a  pledge.     We  could  not  have  prevented  him  at  that  time, 


2l6  A   LEITER   FROM   THE  COUNTESS  [Nov.  7 

and  most  probably  LZngland  would  not  have  stirred  —  in  any 
case  he  could  have  waited.  If  the  coup  succeeded  he  might 
have  placed  himself  back  to  back  with  us,  encouraging  us  to 
further  aggression.  But  (turning  to  Delbriick,  first  leaning  a 
little  forward  and  then  sitting  straight  upright,  a  habit  of  his 
on  such  occasions)  he  is  and  remains  a  muddle-headed  fellow." 

Thiers,  after  having  had  a  conversation  with  Favre  and 
Ducrot  on  the  bridge  of  Sevres,  returned  and  had  another  con- 
ference with  the  Chief  which  lasted  from  8.30  to  9.30.  Favre 
and  Ducrot  had  declared  that  our  conditions  for  an  armistice 
could  not  be  accepted,  but  that  they  would  ascertain  the  opin- 
ions of  their  colleagues,  and  bring  Thiers  a  definite  answer 
to-morrow. 

Sunday,  November  6th.  —  The  Chief  read  to  us  at  dinner  a 
portion  of  his  wife's  letter,  which  was  to  the  following  effect :  — 
"  I  fear  you  will  not  be  able  to  find  a  Bible  in  France,  and  so  I 
shall  shortly  send  you  the  Psalms  in  order  that  you  may  read 
the  prophecies  against  the  French  — '  I  tell  thee,  the  godless 
shall  be  destroyed  ! '  "  The  Minister  had  also  received  a  "  de- 
spairing letter  "  from  Count  Herbert,  whose  wound  was  now 
healed,  because  he  had  been  transferred  to  a  depot.  "  He  says 
that  all  he  has  had  out  of  the  whole  war  has  been  a  fortnight's 
ride  with  his  regiment  and  then  three  months  on  his  back.  I 
wished  to  see  whether  anything  could  be  done,  and  to-day  I  met 
the  Minister  of  War.  He  dissuaded  me,  however,  with  tears  in 
his  eyes  —  he  had  once  interfered  in  a  similar  way  and  lost  his 
son  in  consequence." 

Mojiday,  Nove)nbcr  yth.  —  Early  in  the  morning  the  Chief 
instructs  me  to  telegraph  to  London:  —  "In  the  negotiations 
with  M.  Thiers,  which  lasted  for  five  days,  he  was  offered  an 
armistice  of  any  duration  up  to  twenty-eight  days  on  the 
basis  of  the  military  status  quo,  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
elections,  which  should  also  be  allowed  to  take  place  in  the 
portions  of  France  occuj)ied  by  the  German  troops ;  or  as  an 
alternative,  our  assistance  and  sanction  for  holding  the  elections 
without  a  truce.  After  a  renewed  conference  with  the  Paris 
Government  at  the  outpost.s,  M.  Thiers  was  not  authorised  to 
accept  either  of  these  offers.  He  demanded  fir.st  of  all  pcrmi.s- 
sion  to  provision  Paris,  without  offering  any  military  equivalent. 
As  this  proposal  could  not  be  accepted  by  the  Germans  on  mili- 


1870]  llIK   (QUESTION'    (Jl-'    I'.OMBARDMKNT  21/ 

taiy  grounds,  M.  Thiers  yesterday  received  instructions  from 
Paris  to  break  off  the  negotiations." 

The  following  particulars  have  been  ascertained  from  other 
sources :  —  The  instruction  referred  to  was  received  by  Thiers 
in  the  form  of  a  curt  letter  from  Favre  desiring  him  to  return 
to  Tours,  whither  he  has  gone,  to-day.  The  Chancellor  tells 
me  that  Thiers  was  very  depressed  at  the  foolish  obstinacy  of 
the  Paris  Government,  of  which  both  he  himself  and  several  of 
the  Ministers  disapprove.  Favre  and  Picard,  particularly  the 
latter,  are  desirous  of  peace  but  are  too  weak  to  withstand  the 
opposition  of  the  others.  Gambetta  and  Trochu  will  not  hear  of 
the  elections,  which  would  in  all  probability  put  an  end  to  their 
rule. 

I  write  articles  to  the  following  effect :  —  We  were  prepared 
to  do  everything  possible,  but  all  our  concessions  were  rejected 
owing  to  the  ambition  of  MM.  Favre  and  Trochu,  who  do  not 
want  to  be  forced  by  the  true  representatives  of  the  French  peo- 
ple to  give  up  the  power  which  fell  into  their  hands  through  an 
insurrection.  It  is  that  ambition  alone  which  prolongs  the  war. 
We,  on  the  other  hand,  have  shown  that  we  desire  peace,  by 
carrying  our  complaisance  to  the  utmost  point. 

The  postponement  of  the  bombardment  was  again  discussed 
at  dinner.  The  Chancellor  said  he  could  not  understand  the 
absurd  rumour  circulated  in  the  newspapers  to  the  effect  that  he 
was  opposed  to  the  bombardment  while  the  military  authorities 
were  pressing  for  it.  "  Exactly  the  contrary  is  the  case.  No  one 
is  more  urgent  in  favour  of  it  than  I  am,  and  it  is  the  military 
authorities  who  hesitate.  A  great  deal  of  my  correspondence 
is  taken  up  in  dispelling  the  scruples  and  excessive  circum- 
spection of  the  military  people.  It  appears  that  the  artillery 
are  constantly  requiring  more  time  for  preparation  and  particu- 
larly a  larger  supply  of  ammunition.  At  Strasburg,  they  also 
asked  for  much  more  than  was  necessary,  as  notwithstanding 
the  foolish  waste  of  powder  and  shell,  two-thirds  of  the  supply 
collected  was  never  used."  Alten  objected  that  even  if  the 
forts  in  question  were  captured  they  would  be  then  subjected  to 
the  fire  from  the  enciente,  and  we  should  have  to  begin  over 
again.  "That  may  be,"  said  the  Minister,  "but  they  ought  to 
have  known  that  sooner,  as  there  was  no  fortress  we  knew  so 
much  about  from  the  commencement  as  Paris." 


2l8  "  rilE   FIRST   FOKKIGN    OFFICE   OF  THE   WORLD"       [Nov.  8 

Somebody  remarked  that  in  the  two  balloons  that  had  been 
seized  five  persons  had  been  taken  prisoners.  The  Chief  con- 
sidered that  they  ought  to  be  treated  as  spies  without  any 
lengthy  deliberation.  Alten  said  they  would  be  brought  up  be- 
fore a  court-martial,  whereupon  the  Minister  exclaimed,  "  Well, 
nothing  will  happen  to  them  there !  "  He  then  observed  how 
stout  and  strong  Count  Bill  was.  At  his  age  he  himself  was 
slight  and  thin.  "  At  Gottingen  I  was  as  thin  as  a  knitting- 
needle."  Mention  having  been  made  of  the  circumstance  that 
the  sentry  posted  outside  the  villa  occupied  by  the  Crown  Prince 
had  been  shot  at  and  wounded  the  night  before,  and  that  the 
town  would  be  obliged  to  pay  him  five  thousand  francs  as  com- 
pensation, the  Chief  said  that  in  going  out  in  the  evening  he 
would  not  take  his  sword  but  rather  a  revolver — "as  although 
in  certain  circumstances  I  should  be  quite  willing  to  let  myself 
be  murdered,  I  should  not  like  to  die  unavenged." 

After  dinner  I  was  instructed  by  the  Chancellor  to  again 
telegraph  an  account  of  the  negotiations  with  Thiers,  only  in 
a  somewhat  different  form.  On  my  venturing  to  observe  that 
the  contents  of  the  despatch  had  been  telegraphed  in  the 
morning,  he  replied,  "  Not  quite  accurately ;  you  see  here 
'Count  Bismarck  proposed,'  &c.  You  must  notice  such  fine 
shades  if  you  want  to  work  in  the  first  Foreign  Office  of  the 
world." 

Tuesday,  November  ?>fh.  —  In  the  morning  I  sent  off  a  tele- 
gram stating  that  the  j)risoners  taken  in  the  balloons  have  been 
transported  to  a  Prussian  fortress  in  order  to  be  tried  there  by 
court-martial.  Furthermore  that  the  confiscated  letters  com- 
promised diplomats  and  other  personages  who  have  been  per- 
mitted to  remain  in  communication  with  the  outer  world  out  of 
consideration  for  their  position  and  sense  of  honour.  Such 
communication  would  no  longer  be  tolerated. 

At  about  12.30  P.M.,  while  we  were  at  lunch,  the  Chief  re- 
ceived a  visit  from  Archbishop  Ledochowski  of  Posen,  and  it 
was  understood  that  his  business  was  to  submit  an  offer  of  the 
Pope  to  intervene  with  the  P'rench  Government.  They  proba- 
bly hope  in  this  way  to  purchase  the  intervention  of  the  German 
Government  on  behalf  of  the  Holy  P^ather.  The  Archbishop 
remained  till  nearly  3  o'clock,  and  on  his  leaving  the  Chief  went 
to  see  tlie    King.      He  subsequently  took  dinner  at  the  Crown 


1870]  I'KMIXIXK    INILIJKN'CK  219 

Prince's,  where  tlie  (irand  Duke  of  Baden,  who  had  arrived  in 
the  meantime,  also  dined. 

UelbriJck,  General  Chauvin,  and  Colonel  Meidam,  the  officer 
in  command  of  the  Field  Telegraph,  were  the  Chief's  guests  at 
dinner.  Mention  was  made  of  the  improper  use  of  the  telegraph 
wire  by  distinguished  personages  for  their  private  purposes. 

After  a  while  the  Chancellor  remarked  :  —  "I  hear  that  the 
Augustenburger  also  telegraphs.  That  really  should  not  be. 
Nor  has  the  Coburger  any  right  to  do  so.  The  telegraph  is  for 
military  and  diplomatic  purposes  and  not  for  minor  potentates  to 
use  for  inquiries  respecting  their  kitchens,  stables,  and  theatres. 
None  of  them  has  any  rights  here.  Their  rights  ceased  on 
passing  the  German  frontier." 

On  some  one  referring  to  the  destruction  of  the  telegraph 
wires  and  other  similar  misconduct  on  the  part  of  franctireurs 
and  peasants  near  Epernay,  the  Minister  said:  —  "They  should 
have  immediately  sent  three  or  four  battalions  there,  and  trans- 
ported six  thousand  peasants  to  Germany  until  the  conclusion 
of  the  war." 

Amongst  other  subjects  discussed  at  tea  was  the  rumour 
that  the  postponement  of  the  bombardment  was  in  part  due  to 
the  influence  of  ladies,  the  Queen  and  the  Crown  Princess  being 
mentioned  in  this  connection.  The  Chief  was  in  the  drawing- 
room  engaged  in  conference  with  the  Bavarian  General  von 
Bothmer  on  the  military  question  in  connection  with  the  closer 
unification  of  Germany  now  in  progress.  The  Minister  joined 
us  afterwards,  remaining  for  about  an  hour.  On  sitting  down 
he  breathed  a  deep  sigh  and  said :  —  "I  was  thinking  just  now, 
what  I  have  indeed  often  thought  before  —  If  I  could  only  for 
five  minutes  have  the  power  to  say :  '  That  must  be  done  thus 
and  in  no  other  way!'  —  If  one  were  only  not  compelled  to 
pother  about  the  'why'  and  the  'wherefore,'  and  to  argue  and 
plead  for  the  simplest  things  !  —  Things  made  much  more  rapid 
progress  under  men  like  Frederick  the  Great,  who  were  generals 
themselves  and  also  knew  something  about  administration,  act- 
ing as  their  own  Ministers.  It  was  the  same  with  Napoleon. 
But  here,  this  eternal  talking  and  begging  !  " 

After  a  while  the  Chief  said,  with  a  laugh  :  —  "I  have  been 
busy  to-day  educating  Princes." 

"  How  so,  Excellency  ?  "  asked  Hatzfeld. 


220  IF  THE   POPE   CAME  TO   GERMANY  [Nov.  8 

"  Well,  I  have  explained  to  various  gentlemen  at  the  Hotel 
des  Reservoirs  what  is  and  what  is  not  proper.  I  have  given 
the  Meininger  to  understand  through  Stein  that  he  is  not  to  be 
allowed  to  use  the  Field  Telegraph  for  giving  instructions  about 
his  kitchen  garden  and  theatre.  And  the  Coburger  is  still  worse. 
Never  mind,  the  Reichstag  will  set  that  right  and  put  a  stop  to 
all  that  kind  of  thing.     But  only  I  shall  not  be  there." 

Hatzfeld  asked  :  —  "  Has  your  Excellency  seen  that  the 
Italians  have  broken  into  the  Quirinal  .-*  " 

"Yes,  and  I  am  curious  to  know  what  the  Pope  will  now  do. 
Leave  the  country  ?  But  where  can  he  go  .-*  He  has  already 
requested  us  to  ask  the  Italians  whether  he  would  be  allowed 
to  leave  and  with  fitting  dignity.  We  did  so,  and  they  replied 
that  the  utmost  respect  would  be  paid  to  his  position,  and  that 
their  attitude  would  be  governed  by  that  determination  in  case 
he  desired  to  depart." 

"They  would  not  like  to  see  him  go,"  added  Hatzfeld;  "it 
is  in  their  interests  that  he  should  remain  in  Rome." 

The  Chief :  —  "  Yes,  certainly.  But  perhaps  he  may  be 
obliged  to  leave.  But  where  could  he  go .-'  Not  to  France, 
because  Garibaldi  is  there.  He  would  not  like  to  go  to  Austria. 
To  Spain  .'  I  suggested  to  him  Bavaria."  The  Minister  then 
reflected  for  a  moment,  after  which  he  continued :  —  "  There 
remains  nothing  for  him  but  Belgium  or  North  Germany.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  has  already  asked  whether  we  could  grant  him 
asylum.  I  have  no  objection  to  it  —  Cologne  or  Fulda.  It 
would  be  passing  strange,  but  after  all  not  so  very  inexj^licable, 
and  it  would  be  very  useful  to  us  to  be  recognised  by  Catholics 
as  what  we  really  are,  that  is  to  say,  the  sole  power  now  existing 
that  is  capable  of  protecting  the  head  of  their  Church.  Stofflet 
and  Charette,  together  with  their  Zouaves,  could  then  go  about 
their  business.  We  should  have  the  Poles  on  our  side.  The 
opposition  of  the  Ultramontanes  would  cease  in  Belgium  and 
Bavaria.  Malinkrott  would  come  over  to  the  Government  side, 
l^ut  the  King  will  not  consent.  He  is  terribly  afraid.  He 
thinks  all  Prussia  would  be  perverted  and  he  himself  would 
be  obliged  to  become  a  Catholic.  I  told  him,  however,  that 
if  the  Pope  begged  for  asylum  he  could  not  refuse  it.  He 
would  have  to  grant  it  as  ruler  over  ten  million  Catholic  sub- 
jects who  would  desire  to  see  the  head  of  their  Church  pro- 


1870J  BISMARCK   AS   A    HORSEMAN  221 

tected.  Besides,  imaginative  people,  particularly  women,  may 
possibly  feel  drawn  towards  Catholicism  by  the  pomp  and  ritual 
of  St.  Peter's,  with  the  Pope  seated  upon  his  throne  and  be- 
stowing his  benediction.  The  danger  would  not  be  so  great, 
however,  in  Germany,  where  the  people  would  see  the  Pope 
amongst  them  as  a  poor  old  man  seeking  assistance  —  a  good 
old  gentleman,  one  of  the  Bishops,  who  ate  and  drank  like  the 
rest,  took  his  pinch  of  snuff,  and  even  perhaps  smoked  a  cigar. 
And  after  all  even  if  a  few  people  in  Germany  became  Catholic 
again  (I  should  certainly  not  do  so),  it  would  not  matter  much  so 
long  as  they  remained  believing  Christians.  The  particular  sect 
is  of  no  consequence,  only  the  faith.  People  ought  to  be  more 
tolerant  in  their  way  of  thinking."  The  Chief  then  dilated  on 
the  comic  aspect  of  this  migration  of  the  Pope  and  his  Cardinals 
to  Fulda,  and  concluded  :  —  "Of  course  the  King  could  not  see 
the  humorous  side  of  the  affair.  But  (smiling)  if  only  the  Pope 
remains  true  to  me,  I  shall  know  how  to  bring  his  Majesty 
round." 

Some  other  subjects  then  came  up.  Hatzfeld  mentioned 
that  his  Highness  of  Coburg  had  fallen  from  his  horse. 
"  Happily,  however,  without  being  hurt,"  hastily  added  Abeken, 
with  a  pleased  expression.  This  led  the  Chief  to  speak  of 
similar  accidents  that  had  happened  to  himself. 

"  I  believe  I  shall  be  more  than  within  the  mark  in  saying 
that  I  must  have  fallen  from  horseback  fifty  times.  It  is  noth- 
ing to  be  thrown  from  your  horse,  but  when  the  horse  lies  on 
top  of  you,  then  it's  a  bad  case.  The  last  time  was  at  Varzin, 
when  I  broke  three  ribs.  I  thought  it  was  all  up  with  me.  It 
was  not,  however,  so  dangerous  as  it  seemed,  but  it  was  terribly 
painful.  .  .  .  But  as  a  young  man  I  had  a  remarkable  accident, 
which  shows  how  our  thinking  powers  are  dependent  upon  the 
brain.  I  was  riding  home  one  evening  with  my  brother,  and 
we  were  both  galloping  as  hard  as  our  horses  could  go.  Sud- 
denly my  brother,  who  was  in  front,  heard  a  fearful  bang.  It 
was  my  head  that  had  struck  against  the  road.  My  horse  had 
shied  at  a  lantern  in  a  cart  coming  in  the  opposite  direction,  and 
reared  so  that  he  fell  backwards,  and  I  tumbled  on  my  head. 
At  first  I  lost  consciousness,  and  on  returning  to  my  senses  my 
power  of  thinking  remained  on  some  points  quite  clear,  but  had 
quite  deserted  me  on  others.     I  examined  my  horse  and  found 


222  A   STRANGE  CASE  [Nov.  lo 

that  the  saddle  was  broken,  so  I  called  the  groom  and  rode 
home  on  his  horse.  W'b.en  the  dogs  there  barked  at  me  by  way 
of  greeting,  I  thought  they  did  not  belong  to  us,  got  cross  with 
them,  and  drove  them  away.  Then  I  said  the  groom  had  fallen 
from  his  horse  and  they  should  send  a  stretcher  to  bring  him  in; 
and  I  got  very  angry  when,  taking  their  cue  from  my  brother, 
they  showed  no  disposition  to  move.  Were  they  going  to  leave 
the  unfortunate  man  lying  in  the  road .-'  I  did  not  know  that  I 
was  myself  and  was  at  home,  or  rather  I  was  both  myself  and 
the  groom.  I  asked  for  something  to  eat  and  afterwards  went 
to  bed.  After  having  slept  through  the  night  I  woke  up  next 
morning  all  right  again.  It  was  a  strange  case.  I  had  exam- 
ined the  saddle,  taken  another  horse,  and  so  forth.  I  had  done 
everything  that  was  practically  required.  In  that  respect  the 
fall  had  produced  no  confusion  in  my  ideas.  A  singular  exam- 
ple which  shows  that  the  brain  harbours  various  intellectual 
powers  —  only  one  of  these  had  remained  stupefied  by  my  fall 
for  a  somewhat  longer  time. 

"  I  well  remember  another  incident  of  the  kind.  I  was  rid- 
ing rapidly  through  some  young  timber  in  a  large  wood  a  consid- 
erable distance  from  home.  As  I  was  crossing  over  a  hollow 
road  the  horse  stumbled  and  fell,  and  I  lost  consciousness.  I 
must  have  lain  there  senseless  for  about  three  hours,  as  it  was 
already  twilight  by  the  time  I  stirred.  The  horse  was  standing 
near  me.  As  I  said,  the  place  was  at  a  great  distance  from  our 
estate,  and  I  was  entirely  unacquainted  with  the  district.  I  had 
not  yet  quite  recovered  my  senses,  but  on  this  occasion  also  I  did 
what  was  necessary.  I  took  off  the  martingale,  which  was 
broken,  and  followed  the  road  across  a  rather  long  bridge  which, 
as  I  then  ascertained,  was  the  nearest  way  to  a  farm  in  the 
neighbourhood.  The  farmer's  wife  ran  away  on  seeing  a  big 
man  standing  before  her  with  his  face  all  covered  with  blood. 
Her  husband,  however,  came  to  me  and  wiped  away  the  blood. 
I  told  him  who  I  was,  and  as  I  was  hardly  fit  for  such  a  long 
ride  home  I  asked  him  to  drive  me  there,  which  he  accordingly 
did.  I  must  have  been  shot  fifteen  feet  out  of  the  saddle  and 
fallen  against  the  root  of  a  tree.  On  the  doctor  examining  my 
injuries,  he  said  it  was  against  all  the  rules  of  his  art  that  I  had 
not  broken  my  neck. 

"  I  have  also  been  a  couj^le  of  other  times  in  danger  of  my 


1S70J  TllK   OlJJKrr   OK   AN    ARMISnCK  223 

lite,"  continued  the  Chief.  "  For  instance,  before  the  Semmer- 
ing  railway  was  iinished  (I  believe  it  was  in  1852)  I  went  with  a 
party  thr()ii<;h  one  of  the  tunnels.  It  was  quite  dark  inside.  I 
went  ahead  with  a  lantern.  Now  right  across  the  floor  of  the 
tunnel  was  a  rift  or  gully,  which  must  have  been  about  fifteen 
feet  deep  and  half  as  wide  again  as  this  table.  A  plank  was 
laid  across  it,  with  a  raised  skirting  board  on  both  sides  to  pre- 
vent the  wheelbarrows  from  slipping  off.  This  ])lank  must  have 
been  rotten,  as  when  I  reached  the  middle  it  broke  in  two  and  I 
fell  down ;  but  having  probably  involuntarily  stretched  out  my 
arms,  I  remained  hanging  on  the  skirting.  The  lantern  having 
gone  out,  those  behind  thought  I  had  fallen  into  the  gully,  and 
were  not  a  little  surprised  when  the  reply  to  their  question,  'Are 
you  still  alive  .''  '  instead  of  coming  from  the  depths  below  came 
from  just  under  their  feet.  I  answered,  'Yes,  here  I  am.'  I 
had  in  the  meantime  recovered  hold  also  with  my  feet,  and  I 
asked  w'hether  I  should  go  on  or  come  back.  The  guide  thought 
I  had  better  go  on  to  the  other  side,  and  so  I  worked  my  way 
over.  The  workman  who  acted  as  our  guide  then  struck  a  light, 
got  another  plank,  and  brought  the  party  across.  That  plank 
was  a  good  example  of  the  slovenly  way  in  w^hich  such  things 
were  managed  in  Austria  at  that  time ;  because  I  cannot  believe 
that  it  was  intentional.  I  was  not  hated  in  Vienna  then  as  I  am 
now  —  on  the  contrary." 

TJinrsday,  A^ovanbc)-  loth.  —  In  the  morning  I  am  instructed 
by  the  Chief  to  telegraph  that  great  distress  has  been  occa- 
sioned in  France  and  that  still  more  is  to  be  anticipated  in  con- 
sequence of  the  application  by  the  Provisional  Government  of 
Savings  Bank  funds  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  of  the  prop- 
erty of  corporations  to  military  purposes.  I  had  permission  to 
study  the  documents  connected  with  the  abortive  negotiations 
for  an  armistice. 

Thiers  had  stated  in  a  memorandum  the  principles  which 
he,  and  the  French  Government  which  he  represented,  regarded 
as  a  basis  for  the  proposed  armistice.  It  w^as  to  the  following 
effect :  —  The  object  of  the  understanding  was  to  put  an  end  as 
soon  as  possible  to  the  bloodshed,  and  to  permit  the  convoca- 
tion of  a  National  Assembly  which  would  represent  the  wdll  of 
France  in  dealing  with  the  European  Powers,  and  be  in  a 
position  sooner  or  later  to  conclude  peace  with  Prussia  and  her 


224  '^'^^^^   PKOVISIONIXG   OF   PARIS  [x\ov.  lo 

allies.  The  armistice  must  last  for  twenty-eight  days,  of  which 
twelve  would  be  required  for  canvassing  the  constituencies,  one 
for  the  polling,  five  for  the  elected  deputies  to  meet  in  some  given 
place,  and  ten  for  examining  the  returns  and  appointing  the 
bureau  of  the  Assembly.  Tours  might  for  the  present  remain 
the  seat  of  such  an  Assembly.  The  elections  must  be  allowed 
to  take  place  free  and  unhindered  in  all  parts  of  France,  includ- 
ing those  occupied  by  the  Prussians.  Military  operations  on 
both  sides  to  cease,  although  both  parties  would  be  at  liberty  to 
enlist  recruits  and  proceed  with  works  of  defence.  The  armies 
to  be  at  liberty  to  obtain  for  themselves  supplies  of  provisions, 
but  requisitions  on  the  other  hand  to  be  suspended  as  "  constitut- 
ing a  military  operation  which  should  cease  together  with  other 
hostilities."  Moreover,  fortified  places  were  to  be  provisioned 
for  the  duration  of  the  truce  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of 
the  population  and  garrison.  For  this  purpose  Paris  to  be 
allowed  to  receive  the  following  live  stock  and  other  provisions 
over  four  railway  lines  to  be  determined :  34,000  bullocks, 
80,000  sheep,  8,000  pigs,  5,000  calves,  100,000  metric  centals  of 
corned  meat,  8,000,000  metric  centals  of  hay  or  straw  as  fodder 
for  the  cattle  in  question,  200,000  metric  centals  of  flour,  30,000 
metric  centals  of  dried  vegetables,  100,000  tons  of  coal,  and 
500,000  cubic  metres  of  firewood.  In  these  calculations  the  pop- 
ulation of  Paris  and  its  suburbs,  including  the  garrison  of  400,- 
000  men,  was  estimated  at  2,700,000  to  2,800,000  inhabitants. 

These  demands  on  the  part  of  the  French  could  not  be 
accepted.  Had  we  agreed  to  them  we  should  have  surrendered 
the  greater  and  more  important  portion  of  the  advantages  we 
had  gained  in  the  last  seven  weeks,  at  the  cost  of  great  sacri- 
fices and  severe  exertions.  In  other  words,  we  should  in  the 
main  have  returned  to  the  position  in  which  we  were  on  the 
19th  of  September,  the  day  on  which  our  troops  completed 
the  investment  of  Paris.  \Vc  are  asked  to  allow  Paris  to  pro- 
vision itself,  when  even  now  it  suffers  from  scarcity  and  will 
shortly  be  obliged  to  starve  or  surrender.  We  are  to  suspend 
our  military  operations  just  at  the  moment  when  the  fall  of 
Metz  and  the  release  of  the  army  of  Prince  I'rederick  Charles 
enable  us  to  extend  and  render  them  more  effective.  We  are 
r[uietly  to  permit  recruiting  and  organisation,  by  means  of 
which  the  P'rench  Republic  is  to  create  a  new  field  force,  while 


iS7uJ  NO   MILITARY   B^UIVALENT  22$ 

\vc  require  no  recruits.  At  the  same  time  that  we  arc  to  allow 
Paris  and  the  other  French  fortresses  to  supply  themselves  with 
provisions,  we  are  to  provide  for  our  own  troops  without  the 
requisitions  which  are  necessary  in  an  enemy's  country.  Wc 
are  to  make  all  these  concessions  without  any  military  equiva- 
lent—  such,  for  instance,  as  the  evacuation  of  one  or  two  of  the 
Paris  forts  in  return  for  the  liberty  to  provision  the  city  —  and 
without  being  offered  any  clear  prospect  of  peace.  The  first 
object  of  the  armistice,  according  to  the  Thiers  memorandum, 
namely,  the  restoration  of  an  orderly  state  of  affairs  by  the 
lawful  election  of  a  Constituent  Assembly,  is  unquestionably 
more  in  the  interest  of  the  French  themselves  than  in  ours ; 
and,  considering  the  constant  excitement  maintained  by  the 
inflammatory  proclamations  of  the  Provisional  Government,  it 
may  possibly  not  be  secured  even  under  a  new  administration. 
More  orderly  conditions  could  be  brought  about  even  now  with- 
out a  truce  if  the  present  Government  were  seriously  disposed 
to  work  in  that  direction.  It  was  absolutely  impossible  on  the 
German  side  to  have  anything  to  do  with  such  proposals.  A 
different  arrangement  altogether  was  needful,  and  therefore  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  offered  M.  Thiers  a  truce  of 
twenty-five  to  twenty-eight  days  on  the  basis  of  the  maintenance 
of  the  military  status  quo,  which  would  enable  the  French  to 
carry  on  the  elections  in  peace,  and  to  convoke  the  Assembly 
thus  constituted.  This  also  was  a  concession  on  our  part  in 
which  the  advantages  were  all  on  the  French  side.  If,  as 
Thiers  asserted,  Paris  was  supplied  with  provisions  and  other 
necessaries  for  several  months,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why  the 
Provisional  Government  broke  off  the  negotiations  which,  at  the 
outside,  would  have  prevented  the  Parisians  from  making  use- 
less sorties.  France,  on  the  other  hand,  would  have  had  the 
great  advantage  of  having  a  line  of  demarcation  drawn  which 
would  have  arrested  the  advance  of  the  German  forces,  restrict- 
ing the  unopposed  occupation  of  further  districts  by  our  army 
that  had  been  set  free  by  the  fall  of  Metz.  In  the  meantime 
Thiers  refused  this  very  acceptable  offer,  and  maintained  that 
the  provisioning  of  Paris  was  an  indispensable  condition  for  an 
understanding,  while  he  was  not  empowered  to  give  any  pros- 
pect of  a  military  equivalent  for  the  same,  such  as  the  evacua- 
tion of  one  of  the  Paris  forts. 

VOL.  I.  —  Q 


226  THE   WAIER   SUPPLY  [Nuv.  lo 

On  coming  in  to  dinner,  the  Chief  mentioned  that  the  Min- 
ister of  War  is  seriously  ill.  He  feels  very  weak,  and  will 
scarcely  be  able  to  rise  from  his  bed  for  a  fortnight.  The 
Count  afterwards  made  some  jokes  about  the  water  supplied  to 
us  for  washing.  "The  inhabitants  of  the  local  reservoir,"  he 
said,  "  seem  to  have  their  seasons.  First  came  the  scolopendria, 
which  are  particularly  distasteful  to  me,  '  moving  their  thousand 
limbs  together'  (Schiller's  Diver).  Then  followed  the  wood 
lice,  which  I  cannot  bear  to  touch,  although  they  are  perfectly 
harmless.  I'd  sooner  grasp  a  snake.  Now  the  leeches  have 
arrived.  I  found  quite  a  small  specimen  to-day,  doubled  up 
into  a  button.  I  tried  to  induce  him  to  deploy,  but  he  declined 
—  remained  a  button.  I  then  poured  some  well  water  over  him, 
and  he  stretched  out  straight,  long  and  thin  like  a  needle,  and 
made  off  with  himself."  The  conversation  then  turned  on  a 
variety  of  simple  but  nevertheless  estimable  delicacies,  such  as 
fresh  and  salt  herrings,  new  potatoes,  spring  butter,  &c.  The 
Minister  observed  to  Delbriick,  who  also  approved  of  those 
good  things  :  "The  sturgeon  is  a  fish  which  is  also  to  be  found 
here,  but  it  is  not  appreciated  as  it  ought  to  be.  In  Russia  they 
recognise  its  good  qualities.  It  is  often  caught  in  the  Elbe  in 
the  Magdeburg  district,  but  is  only  eaten  by  fishermen  and  poor 
people."  He  then  explained  its  good  points,  and  thus  came  to 
speak  of  caviare,  and  treated  of  the  several  varieties  with  the 
knowledge  of  a  connoisseur. 

"  The  fresh  caviare  w'hich  we  now  get  in  Berlin  is  very 
good,"  he  said,  "since  it  can  be  brought  by  rail  from  St.  Peters- 
burg in  forty  hours.  I  have  had  it  several  times,  and  one  of 
my  principal  comi)laints  against  that  fat  Borck  is  that  he  inter- 
cepted forty  pounds  of  this  caviare  which  I  once  sent  to  the 
King.  I  suspected  something  of  the  kind,  as  the  King  made 
no  mention  of  it,  and  did  not  send  me  any  present  in  return. 
Later  on,  Perponcher  or  some  one  told  me  that  on  dropping 
in  to  Borck's  room  he  saw  there  a  barrel  of  caviare  with  a 
spoon  standing  in  it.  That  made  mc  wild  with  him  {Das  hat 
■>nir  scJir  vcrdrosscn).  " 

The  Chief  remarked  at  dinner :  "  To-day,  again,  I  noticed 
when  it  snowed  how  many  points  of  resemblance  there  arc  be- 
tween the  Gauls  and  the  Slavs.  The  same  broad  streets,  with 
tuc  houses  standing  close  together,  the  same  low  roofs,  as   in 


1S70]  DRINKING   FEATS  227 

Russia.  The  only  thing  wanting  here  is  the  green  onion- 
shaped  steeple.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  versts  and  kilo- 
metres, the  arsheens  and  metres,  are  the  same.  And  then  the 
tendency  to  centralisation,  the  uniformity  of  views  of  the  whole 
population  and  the  communistic  trait  in  the  popular  character." 

He  then  spoke  of  the  wonderful  "  topsy-turvy  "  world  we 
live  in  nowadays.  "  When  one  thinks  that  perhaps  the  Pope 
will  shortly  be  residing  in  a  small  town  of  Protestant  Germany, 
that  the  Reichstag  may  meet  in  Versailles  and  the  Corps  Legis- 
latif  in  Cassel,  that  Garibaldi  has  become  a  French  general 
in  spite  of  Mentana,  and  that  Papal  Zouaves  arc  fighting  side 
by  side  with  him !  "  He  followed  up  this  train  of  ideas  for 
some  little  time. 

The  Minister  then  remarked  suddenly :  "  Metternich  has 
also  written  to  me  to-day.  He  wants  me  to  allow  Hoyos  to 
enter  Paris,  in  order  that  he  may  bring  away  the  Austrians. 
I  replied  that  since  the  25th  of  October  they  have  had  permis- 
sion to  come  out,  but  that  we  could  allow  no  more  people  to 
enter,  not  even  diplomats.  We  also  receive  none  in  Versailles, 
but  I  would  make  an  exception  in  his  favour.  He  will  then 
perhaps  again  raise  the  Austrians'  claims  respecting  the  prop- 
erty of  the  old  Bund  in  the  German  fortresses." 

On  the  subject  of  doctors,  and  the  way  in  which  nature  some- 
times comes  to  its  own  assistance,  the  Chief  related  that  he  was 

once  with  a  shooting  party  for  two  days  at  the  Duke  of  's. 

"  I  was  thoroughly  out  of  sorts.  Even  the  two  days'  shooting 
and  fresh  air  did  me  no  good.  On  the  third  day  I  visited  the 
Cuirassiers  at  Brandenburg,  who  had  received  a  new  cup.  I 
was  to  be  the  first  one  to  drink  out  of  it,  thus  dedicating  it,  and 
then  it  was  to  go  the  round  of  the  table.  It  held  nearly  a  bot- 
tle. I  made  my  speech,  however,  drank  and  set  it  down  empty, 
to  the  great  surprise  of  the  officers,  who  had  but  a  poor  opinion 
of  mere  quill-drivers.  That  w^as  the  result  of  my  Gottingen 
training.  And  strangely,  or  perhaps  naturally  enough,  it  set 
me  all  right  again.  On  another  occasion,  when  I  was  shooting 
at  Letzlingen  in  the  time  of  Frederick  William  IV.,  the  guests 
were  asked  to  drink  from  an  old  puzzle  goblet.  It  was  a  stag's 
horn,  which  contained  about  three-quarters  of  a  bottle  of  wine, 
and  was  so  made  that  one  could  not  bring  it  close  to  the  lips, 
yet  one  was  not  allowed  to  spill  a  drop.     I  took  it  and  drank 


228  A   "KINDLY"    REPLY!  [Nov.  12 

it  off  at  a  draught,  although  it  was  very  cold  champagne,  and 
not  a  single  drop  fell  on  my  white  waistcoat.  Everybody  was 
immensely  surprised;  but  I  said,  'Give  me  another.'  The 
King,  however,  who  evidently  did  not  appreciate  my  success, 
called  out,  '  No,  no  more.'  Such  tricks  were  formerly  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  the  diplomat's  trade.  They  drank  the  weaker 
vessels  under  the  tabic,  wormed  all  they  wanted  to  know  out 
of  them,  made  them  agree  to  things  which  were  contrary  to 
their  instructions,  or  for  which,  at  least,  they  had  no  authority. 
Then  they  were  compelled  to  put  their  signatures  at  once,  and 
afterwards  when  they  got  sober  they  could  not  imagine  how 
they  had  done  it." 

Bismarck-Bohlcn,  who  seemed  to  be  particularly  communi- 
cative to-day,  told  the  following  anecdote  about  the  Chief.  At 
Commcrcy  a  woman  came  to  him  to  complain  that  her  hus- 
band, who  had  tried  to  strike  a  hussar  with  a  spade,  had  been 
arrested.  "The  Minister  listened  to  her  very  amiably,  and 
when  she  had  done  he  replied  in  the  kindliest  manner  possible, 
'  Well,  my  good  woman,  you  can  be  quite  sure  that  your  hus- 
band '  (drawing  a  line  round  his  neck  with  his  finger)  'will  be 
presently  hanged.'  " 

Saturday,  November  \2tJi. — While  we  were  at  lunch  the 
Chief  was  out.  He  shortly  afterwards  passed  through  the 
dining-room  into  the  saloon,  accompanied  by  a  bearded  oflEicer 
in  a  Prussian  uniform,  the  Grand  Duke  of  leaden. 

In  about  ten  minutes  the  Chief  returned  to  table.  He  was 
very  angry  and  indignant,  and  said:  "This  is  really  too  bad! 
No  peace  from  these  Grand  Dukes  even  at  one's  meals. 
They  will  eventually  force  their  way  into  one's  bedroom.  That 
must  be  put  a  stoj:)  to.  It  is  not  so  in  l^erlin.  There  the 
people  who  want  something  from  me  announce  their  visits  in 
writing,  and  I  fi.x  a  suitable  time  for  them  to  call.  Why  should 
it  not  be  the  same  here.''  " 

After  a  while  the  Chief  said  to  one  of  the  attendants  who 
was  waiting  upon  us,  "  Remember  in  future  in  such  cases  to 
say  that  I  am  not  at  home.  Whoever  brings  any  visitor  to 
me  unannounced  wull  be  put  under  arrest  and  sent  off  to  Berlin ; " 
and  after  eating  a  few  mouthfuls  more,  he  went  on:  "As  if  it 
were  anything  of  importance!  But  merely  curiosity  and  a 
dcsir.;  to  kill  time.      He  shall  see,  however;   I  will  shortly  pay 


iSjo]  COUNT    HARRY    AKNIM  229 

him  a  surprise  visit  on  sonic  official  matter,  so  that  he  cannot 
send  me  away.   ..." 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  Roon's  asthma,  which 
accordini^  to  Lauer  is  now  im])roving.  His  rage  at  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Grand  Duke  during  the  dinner  hour  still  visibly 
affected  the  Chief,  wdio  asked  Lauer,  "What  should  one  drink 
with  his  food  when  in  a  bad  temper.''"  and  on  Lauer  recom- 
mending something  the  name  of  which  I  could  not  catch,  the 
Minister  continued:  "It  upsets  my  digestion  when  anything 
exasperates  me  at  meals;  and  here  I  have  had  good  reason 
to  be  angr)'.  They  think  that  one  is  only  made  for  their  use." 
Then  addressing  the  servant  again  the  Chief  said:  "Mind  you 
send  away  the  red  lackeys,  and  say  that  I  am  not  at  home. 
Remember  that!  And  you,  Karl  (to  Bohlen),  must  take  care 
that  this  is  done." 

The  name  of  Arnim  Boitzcnburg,  the  former  Minister,  then 
came  up.  The  Chancellor  said  he  had  been  his  chief  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  and  he  went  on  to  describe  him  as  "  amiable,  clever, 
but  unstable  and  incapable  of  persistent  or  energetic  action. 
He  \vas  like  an  india-rubber  ball  that  bounces  again  and  again, 
but  each  time  with  diminishing  force  until  at  length  it  ceases 
to  move.  He  first  had  an  opinion,  then  weakened  it  by  argu- 
ing against  it  himself,  and  went  on  criticising  his  own  criticism, 
until  at  last  there  was  nothing  left  and  nothing  done." 

Delbriick  praised  the  son-in-law  (Harry  Arnim)  as  being 
well-informed  and  intelligent,  though  unsympathetic  and  un- 
ambitious. This  was  confirmed  by  the  Chief,  who  said  :  "  Yes, 
he  is  a  rocket  in  which  they  forgot  to  put  the  powder.  He 
has,  however,  a  good  head,  but  his  reports  are  not  the  same 
on  any  two  successive  days  —  often  on  the  same  day  two  thor- 
oughly contradictory  views.  No  reliance  can  be  placed  upon 
him." 

Arnim's  lack  of  ambition  led  some  one  to  speak  of  orders 
and  titles,  and  the  Chief  said  his  first  decoration  was  a  medal 
for  saving  life,  wdiich  he  received  for  having  rescued  a  servant 
from  drowning.  "  T  w^as  made  an  '  Excellency  '  at  the  palace 
in  Konigsberg  in  i86i.  I,  however,  already  had  the  title  in 
Frankfort,  only  there  I  was  not  a  Prussian  but  a  Federal 
Excellency.  The  German  Princes  had  decided  that  each  Min- 
ister to  the  Diet  should  have  that  title.      For  the  matter  of  that 


230  "WHY   NOr    BE   CIVIL?"  [Nov.  15 

I  did  not  trouble  myself  much  about  it  —  nor  afterwards  either 
—  I  was  a  distinguished  man  without  it." 

Sunday,  November  i^tk. — The  Chancellor,  in  a  general's 
uniform  and  helmet,  and  wearing  several  orders,  went  to-day 
to  dine  with  the  King.  As  he  was  leaving,  Bohlen  said  to 
him :  "  But  you  ought  to  have  the  ribbon  of  the  Iron  Cross  in 
your  button-hole." 

"It  is  there  already,"  replied  the  Minister.  "In  other  cir- 
cumstances I  should  not  wear  it.  I  am  ashamed  before  my 
own  sons  and  many  others  who  have  earned  it  but  not  got  it, 
while  all  the  loafers  at  headquarters  swagger  about  with  it." 

In  the  evening  the  Chancellor  desired  me  to  send  a  dt'ineriti 
of  a  false  report  published  by  the  Augsburg  Allgevieijic  Zci- 
tung,  to  the  effect  that  Count  Arnim  paid  a  visit  to  head- 
quarters before  his  departure  for  Rome.  The  Chief  at  the 
same  time  remarked  :  "  I  have  told  you  more  than  once  that 
you  must  not  write  so  violently.  Here  you  are  again,  speak- 
ing of  *  hallucination  '  (in  correction  of  an  article  by  Archibald 
Forbes  in  the  Daily  Neius).  Why  not  be  civil .-'  I,  too,  have 
to  be  civil.  Always  this  carping,  malignant  style !  You  must 
learn  to  write  differently  if  you  w^ant  to  work  in  such  a  distin- 
guished Foreign  Ofifice,  or  we  must  make  other  arrangements. 
And  such  a  bullying  style !  Just  like  Brass,  who  might  have 
had  a  brilliant  position  if  he  were  not  so  brutal."  "  Hallucina- 
tion "  was  the  word  used  by  the  Minister  himself;  but  in  future 
I  shall  be  careful  to  sift  my  phrases  so  as  to  eliminate  all  rough 
words  and  only  let  soft  ones  find  their  w-ay  into  the  press. 

Ilatzfekl  told  me  at  tea  that  the  Chief  had  also  "carried 
on  awfully  "  with  him,  adding  that  if  he  remained  in  such  a 
temper  for  long  he  (Ilatzfekl)  would  think  of  leaving.  The 
Count  will,  however,  in  all  probability  take  plenty  of  time  to 
reconsider  this  matter. 

Tuesday,  November  x^tJi. — The  Chief  is  still  unwell. 
Theiss  reports  that  the  Court  have  their  things  ready  packed 
to-day,  and  this  is  confirmed  at  lunch.  The  position  of  affairs 
between  here  and  Orleans  is  not  as  good  as  it  might  be.  The 
Minister  also  on  sitting  down  to  table  mentions  the  possibility 
of  our  having  to  retire  and  evacuate  Versailles  for  a  time. 
There  might  be  an  attack  from  Ureux  combined  with  a  sortie 
on   a   large   scale   from    Paris.      He    had    repeatedly   spoken   of 


1870]  possiisii.rrv  of  kvacuatlng  vl'.rsaili.ls  231 

that  possibility  to  members  of  the  general  staff.  Even  a  lay- 
man could  see  that  a  successful  attempt  of  that  kind  in  which 
not  only  the  Court  and  general  staff,  but  also  the  heavy  siege 
guns,  would  be  in  danger  of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
must  be  the  sole  chance  of  relieving  Paris,  and  that  the  French, 
therefore,  may  well  hazard  the  attempt. 


CHAPTER   XII 

GROWING    DESIRE    FOR    A    DECISION    IN    VARIOUS    DIRECTIONS 

Wfdncsdaj',  November  \6th. — The  Chief  is  still  unwell. 
One  of  the  causes  is  supposed  to  be  his  mortification  at  the 
course  of  the  negotiations  with  the  South  German  States 
(which  once  more  seem  as  if  they  would  come  to  a  standstill) 
and  at  the  conduct  of  the  military  authorities,  who  have  on 
various  occasions  neglected  to  consult  him,  although  the  matters 
dealt  with  were  not  merely  military  questions. 

Count  Waldersce  dines  with  us.  The  Chief  complains  once 
more  that  the  military  authorities  are  proceeding  too  slowly  for 
him,  and  do  not  inform  him  of  all  matters  of  importance.  He 
had  only  succeeded,  "  after  repeated  requests,"  in  getting  them 
to  send  him  at  least  those  particulars  which  they  telegraph  to 
the  German  newspapers.  It  was  different  in  1866.  He  was 
then  present  at  all  councils,  and  his  view  was  frequently  ac- 
cepted. For  instance,  it  was  due  to  him  that  a  direct  attack 
upon  Vienna  was  given  up,  and  that  the  army  marched  on  to 
the  Hungarian  frontier.  "And  that  is  only  as  it  should  be. 
It  is  necessary  for  my  business.  I  must  be  informed  of  the 
course  of  military  oj^erations,  in  order  that  I  may  know  the 
proper  time  at  which  to  conclude  peace." 

Thursday,  Xoveniber  lyth.  —  Alten  and  Prince  Radziwill  are 
the  Chief's  guests  at  dinner.  A  rumour  is  mentioned  to  the 
effect  that  Garibaldi  and  13,000  of  his  volunteers  have  been 
made  prisoners.  The  Minister  observed:  "That  is  really  dis- 
heartening—  to  make  prisoners  of  13,000  franctireurs  who  are 
not  even  I-'renchmen  !     Why  have  they  not  been  shot  .-^  " 

He  then  complained  that  the  military  authorities  so  seldom 
consulted  him.  "This  capitulation  of  Verdun,  for  instance  — 
I  should  certainly  not  have  advised  that.  To  undertake  to 
return  their  arms  after  peace    had    been    concluded,  and    still 

232 


Nov.  17,  iSjoJ       WllV    NOT   SHOOT  THE   CAKIliALDIANS?  233 

more  to  let  1^'rench  officials  continue  the  administration  as  they 
please.  The  first  condition  mi[^ht  ])ass,  as  the  conditions  of 
peace  mi<;ht  provide  that  the  weapons  should  not  be  returned. 
But  that  libroiioit !  It  ties  our  hands  in  the  interval,  even 
should  they  place  all  kinds  of  obstacles  in  our  way  and  act  as 
if  there  were  absolutely  no  war.  They  can  openly  stir  up  a 
risini2:  in  favour  of  the  Republic,  and  under  this  agreement  we 
can  do  nothing  to  prevent  them."  After  dwelling  upon  this 
topic  for  some  time,  the  Minister  concluded  by  saying:  "At  all 
events,  such  a  capitulation  is  unprecedented  in  history." 

Some  one  referred  to  the  article  written  by  a  diplomat  in  the 
bidcpoidancc  Beige  prophesying  the  restoration  of  Napoleon. 
"  No  doubt,"  observed  the  Chancellor,  "  Napoleon  fancies  some- 
thing of  the  kind  will  happen.  Moreover,  it  is  not  entirely 
impossible.  If  he  made  peace  with  us  he  might  return  with 
the  troops  he  has  now  in  Germany.  Something  in  the  style  of 
Klapka's  Hungarian  Legion  on  a  grand  scale,  to  work  in  co- 
operation with  us.  And  then  his  Government  is  still  the  legal 
one.  Order  being  once  restored,  he  would  at  the  outside  require 
an  army  of  200,000  men  for  its  maintenance.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  Paris,  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  garrison  the  large 
towns  with  troops.  Perhaps  Lyons  and  Marseilles.  The 
National  Guards  w'ould  be  sufficient  for  the  protection  of  the 
others.  If  the  republicans  were  to  rise  in  rebellion  they  could 
be  bombarded  and  shelled  out. 

A  telegram  reporting  Granville's  statement  with  regard  to 
the  Russian  declaration  concerning  the  Peace  of  Paris  was  sent 
by  the  King  to  the  Chief,  who  read  it  over  to  us.  It  was  to  the 
effect  that  Russia,  in  taking  upon  herself  to  denounce  a  portion 
of  the  Treaty  of  1856,  assumed  the  right  to  set  aside  the  whole 
on  her  own  initiative,  a  right  which  was  only  possessed  by  the 
signatory  Powers  collectively.  England  could  not  tolerate  such 
an  arbitrary  course,  which  threatened  the  validity  of  all  treaties. 
Future  complications  were  to  be  apprehended.  The  Minister 
smiled  and  said  :  "  Future  complications !  Parliamentary 
speech-makers !  They  are  not  going  to  venture.  The  whole 
tone  is  also  in  the  future.  That  is  the  way  in  which  one  speaks 
when  he  does  not  mean  to  do  anything.  No,  there  is  nothing 
to  be  feared  from  them  now,  as  there  was  nothing  to  be  hoped 
from  them  four  months  ago.     If  at  the  besfinning  of  the  war  the 


234  '^^^^  CASTILIAN   SENSE   OE   HONOUR  [Nov.  19 

English  had  said  to  Napoleon,  'There  must  be  no  war,'  there 
would  have  been  none." 

After  a  while  the  Minister  continued :  "  Gortchakoff  is  not 
carrying  on  in  this  matter  a  real  Russian  policy  (that  is,  one  in 
the  true  interests  of  Russia),  but  rather  a  policy  of  violent  aggres- 
sion. People  still  believe  that  Russian  diplomats  are  particu- 
larly crafty  and  clever,  full  of  artifices  and  stratagems,  but  that 
is  not  the  case.  If  the  people  at  St.  Petersburg  were  clever 
they  would  not  make  any  declaration  of  the  kind,  but  would 
quietly  build  men-of-war  in  the  Black  Sea  and  wait  until  they 
were  questioned  on  the  subject.  Then  they  might  reply  that 
they  knew  nothing  about  it,  but  would  make  inquiries,  and  so 
let  the  matter  drag  on.  That  might  continue  for  a  long  time, 
and  finally  people  would  get  accustomed  to  it." 

Another  telegram  announced  the  election  of  the  Duke  of 
Aosta  as  King  of  Spain.  The  Chief  said:  "I  pity  him  —  and 
them.  He  is,  moreover,  elected  by  a  small  majority  —  not  by 
the  two-thirds  originally  intended.  There  were  190  votes  for 
him  and  115  against."  Alten  was  pleased  that  the  monarchical 
sentiments  of  the  Spaniards  had  ultimately  prevailed.  "  Ah, 
those  Spaniards  !  "  exclaimed  the  Chief.  "  They  have  no  sense 
of  what  is  honourable  or  becoming !  They  showed  that  on  the 
outbreak  of  this  war.  If  only  one  of  those  Castilians  who  pre- 
tend to  have  a  monopoly  of  the  sense  of  honour  had  but  ex- 
pressed his  indignation  at  the  cause  of  the  present  war,  which 
was  after  all  Napoleon's  intervention  in  their  previous  election 
of  a  king,  interfering  with  their  free  choice  and  treating  them 
as  vassals !  .  .  .  As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  Spaniards  are  all 
mere  Angclo  de  Mirandas,  —  he  was  formerly  a  card  sharper, 
and  then  confidant  of  Prim's  and  probably  also  of  the  King's." 
After  the  Chief  had  made  some  further  remarks,  some  one  said 
that  it  was  now  all  over  with  the  candidature  of  the  Prince  of 
Ilohenzollern.  "Yes,"  rei:)lied  the  Chief,  "but  only  because  he 
wishes  it  to  be  so.  A  couple  of  weeks  ago  I  told  him  that  it 
was  still  time,      l^ut  he  no  longer  wanted  to  go  on." 

Saturday,  November  \c)t/i. — -We  were  joined  at  dinner  by 
General  von  Werder,  the  Prussian  Military  Plenipotentiary  at 
.St.  Petersburg.  The  Chief,  who  looked  very  pleased,  said, 
shortly  after  entering  the  dining-room:  "Well,  we  shall  prob- 
ably   be    able    to    come    to    an    understanding    with    Bavaria." 


1S70J  HKINRICII    V()\   GAGERN  235 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  15ohlen,  "  something  of  that  kind  has  already 
been  telegraphed  to  one  of  the  Berlin  papers."  "  I  am  sorry 
for  that,"  replied  the  Minister;  "it  is  premature,  liut  of 
course,  wherever  there  is  a  mob  of  Princes  who  have  nothing 
to  do  and  who  feel  bored,  nothing  can  be  kept  secret !  " 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  Vienna  and  Count  Beust. 
The  Chief  said  I?eust  had  apologised  for  the  recent  discourteous 
note.  It  was  written  by  Biegeleben,  and  not  by  himself.  The 
reference  to  Biegeleben  led  to  the  discussion  of  the  Gagern 
family  and  to  the  once  celebrated  Heinrich  von  Gagern  (Presi- 
dent of  the  Reichstag  in  the  Paulskirche  at  P'rankfort).  "  I 
remember,"  the  Chief  said,  "in  1850  or  1851,  Manteuffel  was 
instructed  to  bring  about  an  understanding  between  the  Gagern 
and  the  Conservative  sections  of  the  Prussian  party  —  at  least, 
as  far  as  the  King  was  disposed  to  go  in  the  cause  of  German 
unity.  Manteuffel  selected  Gagern  and  myself  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  so  we  were  both  invited  one  day  to  a  sotiper  a  trois  at 
his  place.  At  first  there  was  little  or  no  mention  of  politics,  but 
Manteuffel  afterwards  made  some  excuse  for  leaving  us  alone. 
When  he  left  I  immediately  began  to  talk  politics,  explaining 
my  standpoint  to  Gagern  in  a  plain,  business-like  way.  You 
should  have  heard  Gagern !  He  assumed  his  Jove-like  aspect, 
lifted  his  eyebrows,  ran  his  fingers  through  his  hair,  rolled  his 
eyes  and  cast  them  up  to  heaven  so  perpendicularly  that  you 
could  hear  the  joints  in  his  neck  crack,  and  poured  out  his 
grand  phrases  to  me  as  if  I  were  a  public  meeting.  Of  course, 
that  did  not  help  him  much  with  me.  I  replied  coolly,  and  we 
remained  divided  as  before.  When  Jupiter  had  retired,  Man- 
teuffel asked,  '  Well,  what  arrangement  have  you  come  to 
together.''  'Oh,'  I  replied,  'no  arrangement  at  all.  The 
man  is  a  fool.  He  takes  me  for  a  public  meeting !  A  mere 
watering-can  of  fine  phrases !  Nothing  can  be  done  with 
him.'  " 

The  subject  of  the  bombardment  having  been  introduced, 
the  Chief  said :  "  I  told  the  King  again  yesterday  that  it  was 
time  to  begin,  and  he  had  no  objection  to  make.  He  replied 
that  he  had  given  orders  to  begin,  but  that  the  generals  said 
they  could  not.  I  know  exactly  how  it  is.  It  is  Stosch,  Tre- 
skow,  and  Podbielski." 

Some  one  asked  :  "  And  Hindersin  }  " 


236  QUEKX   VICTORIA   AND   THE   BOMBARDMENT  [Nov.  19 

"He  also  is  aj^ainst  it,"  said  the  chief.  "  Podbielski "  (so 
I  understood  him  to  say)  "  could  be  brought  round.  But  the 
other  two  are  influenced  by  considerations  affecting  their  own 
future." 

It  appeared  from  some  further  remarks  of  the  Minister  that, 
in  his  opinion,  first  Queen  Victoria,  and  then,  at  her  instance, 
the  Crown  Princess,  and,  finally,  the  Crown  Prince,  persuaded 
by  his  consort,  will  not  have  Paris  bombarded  :  while  the  gen- 
erals "cannot"  bombard  the  city  out  of  consideration  for  the 
views  of  the  Crown  Prince,  who  will,  of  course,  be  the  future 
King,  and  will  have  the  appointment  of  Ministers  of  War,  com- 
mandants of  army  corps,  and  field  marshals. 

The  late  General  von  Mollendorff  having  been  mentioned, 
the  Minister  related  the  following  anecdote:  "I  remember  after 
the  March  rising,  when  the  King  and  the  troops  were  at  Pots- 
dam, I  went  there  too.  A  council  was  being  held  as  to  what 
was  to  be  done.  Mollendorff  was  present,  and  sat  not  far  from 
me.  He  seemed  to  be  in  pain,  and  could  scarcely  sit  down  for 
the  beating  he  had  received.  All  kinds  of  suggestions  were 
made,  but  no  one  knew  exactly  what  was  to  be  done.  I  sat 
near  the  piano  and  said  nothing,  but  played  a  few  bars"  (he 
hummed  the  opening  of  the  infantry  march  for  the  charge). 
"  Old  M(3llendorff  suddenly  stood  up,  his  face  beaming  with 
pleasure,  and,  hobbling  over,  threw  his  arms  round  my  neck, 
and  said:  'That's  right.  I  know  what  you  mean.  March  on 
Berlin  !  '  There  was  nothing  to  be  done  with  the  King,  how- 
ever, and  the  others  had  not  the  pluck." 

After  a  while  the  Chancellor  asked  Werder :  "How  much 
does  each  visit  to  the  Tsar  cost  you  .-'  "  I  do  not  know  what 
Werder's  answer  was,  but  the  Chief  went  on  :  "  It  was  always 
a  rather  costly  business  for  me  —  particularly  in  Zarskoje. 
There  I  had  always  to  pay  from  15  to  20  and  sometimes  25 
roubles,  according  as  I  drove  out  to  see  the  I^nperor  with  or 
without  an  invitation.  It  was  always  more  expensive  in  the 
former  case.  I  had  to  fee  the  coachman  and  footman  who 
brought  mc,  the  majordomo  who  received  me  —  he  wore  a 
sword  when  I  came  on  invitation,  and  then  the  running  foot- 
man who  conducted  me  through  the  whole  length  of  the  ca.stle 
—  it  must  be  about  a  thousand  yards  — to  the  lunperor's  apart- 
ments.     Well,    he   really   earned    his   five   roubles.      And   one 


isjoj  i,iM':  AT  sr.  rKiKKhiJUKG  237 

never  got  the  s:inie  coachman  twice.  I  could  never  recover 
these  expenses.  We  Prussians  were  altogether  badly  paid. 
Twenty-five  thousand  tlialers'  salary  and  8,000  thalers  for  rent. 
Vnr  that  sum  1  certainly  had  a  house  as  large  and  fine  as  any 
palace  in  Berlin.  Hut  all  the  furniture  was  old,  shabby,  and 
faded,  and  when  I  had  paid  for  re})airs  and  other  odds  and 
ends  it  cost  me  9,000  a  year.  1  found,  however,  that  I  was  not 
obliged  to  spend  more  than  my  salary,  and  so  I  helped  myself 
out  of  the  difficulty  by  not  entertaining.  The  French  Minister 
had  300,000  francs,  and  was  in  addition  allowed  to  charge  his 
Government  with  the  expense  of  any  receptions  which  he  chose 
to  look  upon  as  official." 

"  But  you  had  at  least  free  firing,"  said  Werder,  "and  at  St. 
Petersburg  that  amounts  to  something  considerable  in  the  course 
of  the  year." 

"  L>xcuse  me,  but  I  had  not,"  replied  the  Chief,  "  I  was 
obliged  to  pay  for  that  too.  Wood  would  not  have  been  so 
dear  if  the  officials  had  not  made  it  so.  I  remember  once  see- 
ing some  very  good  timber  in  a  Finnish  boat.  I  asked  the 
peasants  what  the  price  was  and  they  mentioned  a  very  moder- 
ate figure.  But  when  I  wanted  to  buy  it  they  asked  if  it  was 
for  the  Treasury  (he  used  the  Russian  term).  I  was  imprudent 
enough  to  reply  that  it  was  not  for  the  Imperial  Treasury  (he 
again  used  the  Russian  words )  but  for  the  Royal  Prussian  Lega- 
tion. When  I  came  back  to  have  the  wood  removed  they  had 
disappeared.  Had  I  given  them  the  address  of  a  tradesman, 
with  whom  I  could  afterwards  have  made  an  arrangement,  I 
might  have  got  the  wood  at  a  third  of  the  price  I  usually  paid. 
They  evidently  regarded  the  Prussian  Minister  as  one  of  the 
Tsar's  officials  and  thought  to  themselves  :  '  No,  when  it  comes 
to  payment  he  will  say  that  we  have  stolen  the  wood,  and  have 
us  locked  up  until  we  give  it  to  him  for  nothing.'  "  The  Chief 
then  gave  some  instances  of  the  way  in  which  the  Tschinowniks 
harassed  and  exploited  the  peasantry,  and  afterwards  returned 
to  the  subject  of  the  poor  pay  of  Prussian  Ministers  as  compared 
with  those  of  other  countries.  "  It  is  just  the  same  in  Berlin," 
he  said.  "  The  Prussian  Minister  has  10,000  thalers,  but  the 
English  Ambassador  has  63,000,  and  the  Russian  44,000,  while 
the  latter's  Government  bears  the  cost  of  all  entertainments, 
and  if  the  Tsar  stavs  with  him  he  usuallv  receives  a  full  vear's 


238  "WAR   IS   WAR"  [Nov.  23 

salary  as  compensation.  Of  course,  in  such  circumstances,  we 
cannot  keep  pace  with  them." 

Tuesday,  November  22nd.  —  Prince  Pless,  Major  von  Alten, 
and  a  Count  Stolberg  dine  with  us.  Mention  is  made  of  a 
great  discovery  of  first-rate  wine  in  a  cellar  near  Bougival, 
which  has  been  confiscated  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  war. 
Bohlen  complains  that  none  of  it  has  reached  us.  Altogether 
the  Foreign  Office  is  as  badly  provided  as  possible.  Care  is 
always  taken  to  set  apart  the  most  uncomfortable  lodgings  for 
the  Chief,  and  they  have  been  invariably  lucky  in  finding  such. 
"  Yes,"  said  the  Chancellor,  laughing,  "  it  is  pure  churlishness 
on  their  part  to  treat  me  like  that.  And  so  ungrateful,  as  I 
have  always  looked  after  their  interests  in  the  Diet.  But  they 
shall  see  me  thoroughly  transformed.  I  started  for  the  war 
devoted  to  the  military,  but  I  shall  go  home  a  convinced  Parlia- 
mentarian.    No  more  military  budgets."  . 

Prince  Pless  praises  the  Wiirtemberg  troops.  They  make 
an  excellent  impression  and  come  next  to  our  own  in  the  matter 
of  military  bearing.  The  Chancellor  agrees,  but  thinks  the 
Bavarians  also  deserve  commendation.  He  appears  to  be  par- 
ticularly pleased  at  the  summary  way  in  which  they  shoot  down 
the  "  francvoleurs."  "  Our  North  German  soldiers  follow  orders 
too  literally.  When  one  of  those  footpads  fires  at  a  Holstein 
dragoon  he  gets  off  his  horse,  runs  after  the  fellow  with  his 
heavy  sword,  and  catches  him.  He  then  brings  him  to  his  lieu- 
tenant, who  cither  lets  him  go  or  hands  him  over  to  his  superior 
officer  —  which  comes  to  the  same  thing,  as  he  is  then  set  free. 
The  Bavarian  acts  differently.  He  knows  that  war  is  war,  and 
keeps  up  the  good  old  customs.  He  does  not  wait  until  he  is 
shot  at  from  behind,  but  shoots  first  himself." 

In  the  evening  I  prepared  Bernstorff's  despatch  respecting 
the  capture  of  a  German  ship  in  English  waters  by  the  P'rench 
frigate  Desaix  for  our  press ;  also  the  letter  to  Lundy  on  the 
export  of  arms  from  P^ngland  to  P^rance ;  and  finally  arranged 
that  our  papers  should  no  longer  defend  Bazaine  against  the 
charge  of  treason,  "as  it  docs  him  harm." 

Wednesday,  November  2ird.  — This  morning  I  asked  Bucher 
how  the  Bavarian  Treaties  were  getting  on  and  whether  they 
would  not  be  finally  settled  this  evening.  "  Yes,"  was  the  re- 
ply, "  if  nothing  happens  in  the  meaiiliinc  —  and  it  need  not  be 


1870J  "(^)UEKNS    AND    PRINCESSES"  239 

anything  very  important.  Could  you  imagine  what  it  was  that 
recently  nearly  wrecked  the  negotiations?  The  question  of  col- 
lars or  epaulettes  !  The  King  of  Bavaria  wanted  to  retain  the 
Bavarian  collar,  while  his  Majesty  wished  to  have  it  replaced  by 
ours.  The  Chief,  however,  finally  brought  him  round  by  say- 
ing:  '  Ikit,  your  Majesty,  if  the  Treaty  is  not  concluded  now, 
and  in  ten  years'  time  perhaps  the  Bavarians  are  arrayed  against 
us  in  battle,  what  will  history  say  when  it  becomes  known  that 
the  negotiations  miscarried  owing  to  these  collars  ?  '  Moreover, 
the  King  is  not  the  worst — but  rather  the  Minister  of  War." 
As  I  was  then  called  away  I  could  not  for  the  moment  un- 
riddle this  mystery.  I  afterwards  learned  that  the  question  was 
whether  the  l^avarian  offtcers  should  in  future  wear  the  badge 
of  their  rank  on  their  collars  as  hitherto,  or  on  their  shoulder- 
straps  like  the  North  German  troops.  Bucher  having  alluded 
to  the  strong  Republican  sympathies  which  Allen  had  yesterday 
displayed,  Pless  also  observed  :  "  Really,  if  we  had  known  what 
sort  of  people  these  Princes  were  at  the  time  we  were  discussing 
the  Criminal  Code  in  the  Diet,  we  should  really  not  have  helped 
to  make  the  provisions  respecting  lese-inajcst^  so  severe."  The 
Chief  remarked  with  a  laugh :  "  Every  one  of  us  has  already 
deserved  ten  years'  penal  servitude  if  all  our  jibing  at  princes 
during  the  campaign  were  proved  against  us." 

We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  Count  Frankenbcrg  and  Prince 
Putbus.  Both  wore  the  Iron  Cross.  The  guests  mentioned 
that  people  w'ere  very  anxious  in  Berlin  for  the  bombardment  to 
begin,  and  grumbled  a  great  deal  at  its  postponement.  The 
rumour  as  to  the  influence  of  certain  great  ladies  being  one  of 
the  causes  of  the  delay  appears  to  be  very  widespread.  "  I 
have  often  told  the  King  so,"  said  the  Chief,  "but  it  cannot  be 
done;  they  will  not  have  it."  "The  Queen .-' "  suggested  some  one. 
"  Several  queens,"  corrected  the  Chancellor,  "  and  princesses. 
I  believe  also  that  Masonic  influences  and  scruples  have 
helped."  He  then  again  declared  that  he  regarded  the  invest- 
ment of  Paris  as  a  blunder.  "  I  have  never  been  in  favour  of  it. 
If  they  had  left  it  alone  we  should  have  made  more  progress, 
or  at  least  we  should  have  had  a  better  position  before  Europe. 
We  have  certainly  not  added  to  our  prestige  by  spending  eight 
weeks  outside  Paris.  We  ought  to  have  left  Paris  alone  and 
sought  the  P^-ench  in  tlie  open    country.      But    otherwise    the 


240  "lil-:   CIVIL,    HUT    HANG    ALL  THE   SA.^^•;"  [Nov.  23 

bombardment  ought  to  have  begun  at  once.  If  a  thing  has  to 
be  done,  do  it !  " 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  the  treatment  of  the 
French  rural  population,  and  Putbus  related  that  a  Bavarian 
officer  had  ordered  a  whole  village  to  be  burned  to  the  ground 
and  the  wine  in  the  cellars  to  be  poured  out  into  the  gutter  be- 
cause the  inhabitants  of  the  place  had  acted  treacherously. 
Some  one  else  observed  that  the  soldiers  at  some  other  place 
had  given  a  fearful  dressing  to  a  cure  who  had  been  caught  in 
an  act  of  treachery.  The  Minister  again  praised  the  energy  of 
the  Bavarians,  but  said  with  regard  to  the  second  case :  "  One 
ought  either  to  treat  people  as  considerately  as  possible  or  to 
put  it  out  of  their  power  to  do  mischief  —  one  or  the  other." 
After  reflecting  for  a  moment,  he  added :  "  Be  civil  to  the  very 
last  step  of  the  gallows,  but  hang  all  the  same.  One  should 
only  be  rude  to  a  friend  when  one  feels  sure  that  he  will  not 
take  it  amiss.  How  rude  one  is  to  his  wife,  for  instance !  That 
reminds  me,  by  the  way,  Herr  von  Keudell,  will  you  please  tele- 
graph to  Reinfeld,  '  If  a  letter  comes  from  Count  Bismarck  hold 
it  back,  and  forward  it  to  the  Post  Restante  or  to  Berlin.'  I 
have  written  various  things  to  my  wife  which  are  not  overflow- 
ing with  loyal  reverence.  My  father-in-law  is  an  old  gentleman 
of  eighty-one,  and  as  the  Countess  has  now  left  Reinfeld,  where 
she  was  on  a  visit  to  him,  he  would  open  and  read  the  letter  and 
show  it  to  the  pastor,  who  would  tell  his  gossips  about  it,  and 
presently  it  would  get  into  the  newspapers." 

Bleibtreu's  sketch  representing  General  Reille  as  he  came  up 
the  hill  at  Sedan  to  deliver  Napoleon's  letter  to  the  King  was 
then  mentioned,  and  some  one  remarked  that  from  the  way  in 
which  the  general  was  taking  off  his  cap,  he  looked  as  if  he 
were  going  to  shout  Hurrah!  The  Chief  said:  "His  demean- 
our was  thoroughly  dignified  and  correct.  I  spoke  to  him  alone 
while  the  King  was  writing  his  rojily.  He  urged  that  hard  con- 
ditions should  not  be  imposed  upon  a  great  army  which  had 
fought  so  bravely.  I  shrugged  my  shoulders.  He  then  said 
that  rather  than  submit  they  would  blow  up  the  fortress.  I 
said,  'Well,  do  so — faiics  santcr!'  I  asked  him  then  if  the 
Emperor  could  still  depend  \\\>ow  the  army  and  the  officers.  He 
said  yes.  And  whether  his  instructions  and  orders  still  held 
good  in  Mctz  ?     Reille  answered  this  (luestion  also  in  the  affirma- 


1S70J  gi':rman  unity  is  secure  241 

tive,  and,  as  we  saw,  he  was  right  at  the  time.  ...  If  Napo- 
leon had  only  made  jDeacc  then  I  believe  he  would  still  be  a 
respected  ruler.  But  he  is  a  silly  fool !  I  said  so  sixteen  years 
ago  when  no  one  would  believe  me.  Stupid  and  sentimental. 
The  King  also  thought  for  the  moment  that  it  would  be  peace, 
and  wanted  me  to  say  what  conditions  we  should  propose.  But 
I  said  to  him,  *  Your  Majesty,  we  can  hardly  have  got  as  far 
as  that  yet.'  Their  Highnesses  and  Serene  Highnesses  then 
pressed  so  close  to  us  that  I  had  twice  to  beg  the  King  to  move 
further  off.  I  should  have  preferred  to  tell  them  plainly, 
'  Gentlemen,  leave  us  alone ;  you  have  nothing  to  do  here.' 
The  one  thing  which  prevented  me  from  being  rude  to  them 
was  that  the  brother  of  our  Most  Gracious  was  the  ringleader 
and  chief  offender  of  the  whole  prying  mob." 

About  10  o'clock  I  went  down  to  tea,  and  found  Bismarck- 
Bohlen  and  Hatzfeld  still  there.  The  Chief  was  in  the  salon 
with  the  three  Bavarian  Plenipotentiaries.  In  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  he  opened  one  side  of  the  door,  bent  his  head  forward 
with  his  friendliest  look,  and  came  in  with  a  glass  in  his  hand 
and  took  a  seat  at  the  table. 

"Well,"  he  said,  his  voice  and  looks  betraying  his  emotion, 
"  the  Bavarian  Treaty  is  made  and  signed.  German  unity  is 
secure,  and  the  German  Emperor  too."  We  were  all  silent  for 
a  moment.  I  then  begged  to  be  allowed  to  bring  away  the  pen 
with  which  he  had  signed  it.  "  In  God's  name,  bring  all  three," 
he  said  ;  "but  the  gold  one  is  not  amongst  them."  I  went  and 
took  the  three  pens  that  lay  near  the  document.  Two  of  them 
were  still  wet.  Two  empty  champagne  bottles  stood  close  by. 
"  Bring  us  another  bottle,"  said  the  Chief  to  the  servant.  "  It 
is  an  event."  Then,  after  reflecting  for  a  while,  he  observed : 
"  The  newspapers  will  not  be  satisfied,  and  he  who  writes  history 
in  the  usual  way  may  criticise  our  agreement.  He  may  possi- 
bly say,  '  The  stupid  fellow  should  have  asked  for  more ;  he 
would  have  got  it,  as  they  would  have  been  compelled  to  yield.' 
And  he  may  be  right  so  far  as  the  *  compelled  '  is  concerned. 
But  what  I  attached  more  importance  to  was  that  they  should 
be  thoroughly  pleased  with  the  thing.  What  are  treaties  when 
people  are  compelled  to  enter  into  them !  And  I  know  that 
they  went  away  pleased.  ...  I  did  not  want  to  squeeze  them 
or  to  make  capital  out  of  the  situation.     The  Treaty  has  its 

VOL.  I.  —  R 


242  THE  ANGEL  OF   DEATH  [Nov.  24 

deficiencies,  but  it  is  for  that  the  more  durable.  The  future 
can  supply  those  deficiencies.  .  .  .  The  King  also  was  not 
satisfied.  He  was  of  opinion  that  such  a  treaty  was  not  worth 
much.  My  opinion  is  quite  different.  I  consider  it  one  of  the 
most  important  results  which  we  have  attained  during  recent 
years.  I  finally  succeeded  in  carrying  it  through  by  exciting 
apprehensions  of  English  intervention  unless  the  matter  were 
speedily  settled.  ...  As  to  the  question  of  the  Emperor, 
I  made  that  proposal  palatable  to  them  in  the  course  of  the 
negotiations  by  representing  that  it  must  be  easier  and  more 
satisfactory  for  their  sovereign  to  concede  certain  rights  to 
the  German  Emperor  than  to  the  neighbouring  King  of 
Prussia." 

On  the  Minister  then  speaking  somewhat  slightingly  of  the 
King  of  Bavaria,  he  was  like  a  boy,  did  not  know  his  own  mind, 
lived  in  "  dreams,"  and  so  on  —  Abeken  (who  had  entered  in 
the  meantime,  and  was  naturally  aggrieved  at  these  remarks) 
said  :  "  But  surely  the  young  King  is  a  very  nice  man  !  "  "  So 
are  all  of  us  here,"  said  the  Chief,  as  he  looked  round  at  the 
whole  company  one  after  another.  Loud  laughter  from  the 
Centre  and  the  Left.  Over  a  second  bottle  of  champagne 
which  he  drank  with  us,  the  Chief  came  (I  forget  how  the 
subject  was  introduced)  to  speak  of  his  own  death.  He  asserted 
that  he  should  die  in  his  71st  year,  a  conclusion  which  he 
arrived  at  from  some  combination  of  figures  which  I  could  not 
understand.  I  said  :  "  Excellency  must  not  do  that.  It  would 
be  too  early.     One  must  drive  away  the  Angel  of  Death !  " 

"No,"  he  replied.  "In  1886  —  still  fifteen  years.  I  know 
it.      It  is  a  mystic  number." 

Thursday,  November  24///.  —  Busily  engaged  all  the  morning 
with  various  articles  on  the  Treaty  with  Bavaria,  written  in  the 
sense  of  the  Chief's  utterances  of  last  night.  Wollmann  told  me 
that  a  Colonel  Krohn  had  arrested  a  lawyer  at  a  place  in  the 
Ardennes  for  having  treacherously  entered  into  communication 
with  a  band  of  franctireurs,  and  the  court-martial  having  sen- 
tenced the  man  to  death,  he  had  presented  a  petition  for  pardon. 
The  Chief  had,  however,  written  to  the  Minister  of  War  to-day 
that  he  would  advise  the  King  to  let  justice  take  its  course. 

Colonel  Tilly,  of  the  General  Staff,  and  Major  Hill  are  the 
Chief's  guests  at  dinner  to-day.     The  Minister  again  comjilained 


1870J  THE   CKOWxV   rRINCEbS  243 

that  the  military  authorities  do  not  communicate  sufficient  infor- 
mation to  him  and  too  seldom  consult  him.  "  It  was  just  the 
same  with  the  appointment  of  Vogel  von  Falkenstein,  who  has 
now  locked  up  Jacoby.  If  I  have  to  speak  on  that  subject  in 
the  Reichstag,  I  shall  wash  my  hands  of  the  matter.  They  could 
not  possibly  have  done  more  to  spoil  the  broth  for  me."  "  I 
came  to  the  war,"  he  repeated,  "disposed  to  do  everything  for 
the  military  authorities,  but  in  future  I  shall  go  over  to  the 
advocates  of  Parliamentary  government,  and  if  they  worry  me 
much  more,  I  shall  have  a  chair  placed  for  myself  on  the 
extreme  Left." 

The  Treaty  with  Bavaria  was  then  mentioned,  and  it  was 
said  that  the  difficulties  which  had  been  encountered  arose 
partly  on  the  National  side,  on  which  the  Minister  observed : 
"  It  is  really  remarkable  how  many  clever  people  there  are 
who,  nevertheless,  understand  nothing  about  politics.  For  in- 
stance, the  man  who  always  sat  on  my  right  here  (Delbriick). 
A  very  clever  man,  but  no  politician." 

Suddenly  changing  the  subject,  he  said:  "The  English 
are  beside  themselves,  and  their  newspapers  demand  war  on 
account  of  a  note  which  is  nothing  more  than  a  statement  of 
opinion  on  a  point  of  law  —  for  that  is  all  that  Gortchakoff 's 
Note  amounts  to." 

Later  on  the  Minister  returned  once  more  to  the  postpone- 
ment of  the  bombardment,  which  he  regarded  as  dangerous 
from  a  political  standpoint.  "  Here  we  have  now  collected  this 
enormous  mass  of  siege  artillery.  The  whole  world  is  waiting 
for  us  to  begin,  and  yet  the  guns  remain  idle  up  to  the  present. 
That  has  certainly  damaged  us  with  the  neutral  Powers.  The 
effect  of  our  success  at  Sedan  is  very  seriously  diminished 
thereby,  and  when  one  thinks  on  what  grounds."  One  of  the 
causes  of  the  delay  brought  him  to  speak  of  the  Crown  Prin- 
cess, of  whom  he  said:  "She  is  in  general  a  very  clever  person 
and  really  agreeable  in  her  way,  but  she  should  not  interfere  in 
politics."  He  then  again  related  the  anecdote  about  the  glass 
of  water  which  he  told  me  near  Crehanges,  only  this  time  it 
was  in  French  that  the  Princess  spoke. 

Friday,  November  25///.  —  In  the  morning  I  cut  out  for  the 
King  an  article  from  the  Neiie  Freie  Presse,  in  which  Granville's 
note  is  described  as  timid  and  colourless,  and  arrange  for  the 


244  FRENCH    HEROICS  [Nov.  26 

republication  by  all  our  papers  in  France  of  the  telegram  of 
July  last,  in  which  Napoleon  stated  that  the  whole  French 
people  approved  of  the  declaration  of  war  which  he  had  just 
despatched. 

Whilst  I  was  walking  with  Wollmann  in  the  afternoon,  he 
told  me  an  anecdote  of  the  Chief  which  is  very  neat  —  although 
I  must  add  that  my  informant  is  not  quite  trustworthy.  Woll- 
mann said :  "  On  the  night  of  the  14th  to  the  1 5th  of  June,  1866, 
Mantcuffel  telegraphed  that  he  had  crossed  the  Elbe,  and  asked 
how  he  was  to  treat  the  Hanoverians.  Thereupon  the  Minister 
wrote  the  answer :  '  Treat  them  as  countrymen,  if  necessary  to 
death.'  He  asked  me:  'Do  you  understand  that.-*'  'Yes, 
Excellency,'  I  replied.  '  All  right,  then,'  he  added,  '  but,  you 
see,  it  is  for  a  general.'  " 

Saturday,  November  26th.  —  Wrote  several  articles,  includ- 
ing one  on  Trochu's  extraordinary  production  in  the  Figaro  of 
the  22nd  instant,  praising  those  whom  he  considered  specially 
deserving  of  commendation  in  the  defence  of  the  city.  The 
Chief  read  over  to  me  some  of  the  passages  he  had  marked, 
saying:  "These  heroic  deeds  of  the  defenders  of  Paris  are 
mostly  of  such  an  ordinary  kind  that  Prussian  generals  would 
not  think  them  worth  mentioning,  while  others  are  mere  swag- 
ger and  obvious  impossibilities.  Trochu's  braves  have  made 
more  prisoners  when  they  are  all  reckoned  up  than  the  whole 
French  army  during  the  entire  investment  of  Paris.  Then 
here  is  this  Captain  Montbrisson,  who  is  commended  for  having 
marched  at  the  head  of  his  column  to  the  attack,  and  had 
himself  lifted  over  a  wall  in  order  to  reconnoitre,  —  that  was 
merely  his  duty.  Then  here  is  this  theatrical  vanity,  where 
Private  Gletty  made  prisoners  of  three  Prussians,  par  la  fcr- 
viet^de  son  attitude.  The  firmness  of  his  attitude !  And  our 
Pomeranians  ate  humble  pic  before  him  !  That  may  do  for  a 
Boulevard  theatre,  or  a  circus,  —  but  in  reality!  Then  this  Hoff, 
who  on  several  occasions  slaughtered  in  single  combat  no  less 
than  twenty-seven  Prussians !  He  must  be  a  Jew,  this  triple  nine- 
pounder  !  Probably  a  cousin  of  Malz-Hoff  of  the  Old  or  New 
Wilhelmstrasse  —  at  any  rate  a  Miles  Gloriosus.  And  finally 
this  Terreaux,  who  captured  a  f anion,  together  with  the  portc- 
f anion.  That  is  a  company  flag  ff)r  marking  the  line  —  which 
we  do  not  use  at  all.     And  the  Conimandcr-in-Chicf  of  an  army 


iSyo]  STRONC;    LANCiUAGK  TO   A   GRAND   DUKE  245 

officially  reports  such  stuff!  Really  this  list  of  commendations 
is  just  like  the  battle  pictures  in  the  gallery  of  toutcs  les  gloircs 
lie  la  France,  where  each  drummer  at  Sebastopol  and  Ma- 
genta is  preserved  for  posterity,  simply  because  he  beat  his 
drum." 

At  dinner  the  Chief  complained :  "  I  was  yesterday  visited 
by  a  whole  series  of  misfortunes,  one  on  top  of  the  other.  First 
of  all  some  one  wanted  to  see  me  on  important  business  (Odo 
Russell).  I  send  word  requesting  him  to  wait  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, as  I  am  engaged  on  a  pressing  matter.  On  my  asking 
for  him  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  I  find  he  has  gone,  and  pos- 
sibly the  peace  of  Europe  is  at  stake. 

"Then  I  go  to  see  the  King  as  early  as  12  o'clock,  and  the 
consequence  is  that  I  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Weimar,  who  obliges  me,  as  his  Chancellor,  to  listen  to  a  letter 
which  he  has  written  to  an  august  personage  (the  Emperor  of 
Russia),  and  thus  wastes  a  good  deal  of  my  time.  ...  I  am  to 
tell  him  what  I  think  of  the  letter,  but  I  decline  to  do  so. 
Have  I  then  anything  to  object  to  it }  he  asked  in  a  piqued  tone. 
I  cannot  say  that  either,  although  I  would  observe  that  I  should 
have  written  the  letter  differently.  What  do  I  wish  altered .-'  I 
stick  to  my  point,  and  say  I  cannot  express  an  opinion,  because 
if  the  letter  went  with  my  corrections  I  should  be  held  respon- 
sible for  its  contents.  '  Well,  then,  I  must  speak  to  the  King.' 
*  Do  so,'  I  reply  coolly,  'and  take  over  the  office  of  Chancellor 
of  the  Confederation,  if  you  like.  But  if  the  letter  goes  off,  I 
for  my  part  shall  immediately  telegraph  to  the  place  of  desti- 
nation that  I  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  it'  I  thus  lost  an 
hour,  so  that  telegrams  of  great  importance  had  to  wait,  and 
in  the  meantime,  decisions  may  have  been  arrived  at  and  reso- 
lutions taken  which  would  have  very  serious  consequences 
for  all  Europe,  and  might  change  the  political  situation.  That 
all  came  of  its  being  a  Friday.  Friday  negotiations,  Friday 
measures  !  " 

Bucher  told  me  the  Crown  Prince  recently  said  to  the 
Chancellor  that  too  little  had  been  secured  by  the  Bavarian 
Treaty.  After  such  great  successes  we  ought  to  have  asked  for 
more.  "Yes;  but  how  were  we  to  get  it  .-^ "  asked  the  Chief. 
"Why,  we  ought  to  force  them,"  was  the  Crown  Prince's  reply. 
"Then,"  said   the    Chancellor,  "I    can    only  recommend   your 


246  THE  TURCOS   ARE   "BEASTS  OF   PREY"  [Nov.  27,  1S70 

Royal  Highness  to  begin  by  disarming  the  Bavarian  Army 
Corps  here,"  a  remark  which,  of  course,  was  intended  ironically. 

Sunday,  November  2'jth. — We  were  joined  at  dinner  by 
Count  Lehndorff  and  Count  Holnstein.  The  latter  is  Master 
of  the  Horse  to  King  Lewis,  and  one  of  his  confidential 
advisers. 

The  Chief  spoke  at  first  of  the  Russian  question.  He  said  : 
"  Vienna,  Florence,  and  Constantinople  have  not  yet  expressed 
their  views ;  but  St.  Petersburg  and  London  have  done  so,  and 
those  are  the  most  important  factors.  There,  however,  the 
matter  is  satisfactory." 

Subsequently  affairs  at  Munich  were  discussed.  Holnstein 
observing,  amongst  other  things,  that  the  French  Legation  had 
greatly  deceived  themselves  before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  as 
to  the  attitude  of  Bavaria.  They  judged  by  two  or  three 
ardently  Catholic  and  anti-Prussian  salons,  and  even  thought 
that  Prince  Luitpold  would  become  King.  The  Chief  replied : 
"  I  never  doubted  that  Bavaria  would  join  us,  but  I  had  not 
hoped  that  she  would  decide  so  speedily  to  do  so." 

Holnstein  told  us  that  a  shoemaker  in  Munich  had  made  a 
good  deal  of  money  by  letting  his  windows,  from  which  a  good 
view  could  be  had  of  the  captured  Turcos  as  they  marched  by, 
and  presented  seventy-nine  florins  to  the  fund  for  the  wounded 
soldiers.  People  had  come  even  from  Vienna  to  see  that  pro- 
cession. This  led  the  conversation  to  the  shooting  of  these 
treacherous  Africans,  on  which  the  Chief  said:  "There  should 
have  been  no  question  of  making  prisoners  of  these  blacks." 
Holnstein:  "I  believe  they  do  not  do  so  any  longer."  The 
Chief:  "If  I  had  my  way  every  soldier  who  made  a  black  man 
prisoner  should  be  placed  under  arrest.  They  are  beasts  of 
prey,  and  ought  to  be  shot  down.  The  fox  has  the  e.xcuse  that 
Nature  has  made  him  so,  but  these  fellows  —  they  are  abomina- 
bly unnatural.  They  have  tortured  our  soldiers  to  death  in  the 
most  shameful  way." 


CHAPTER   XIII 

REMOVAL  OF  THE  ANXIETY  RESPECTING  THE  BAVARIAN  TREATY 
IN  THE  REICHSTAG  —  THE  BOMBARDMENT  FURTHER  POST- 
PONED 

Monday,  November  2^th.  —  Prince  Pless  and  Count  Maltzahn 
dined  with  us.  At  first  the  Minister  spoke  about  Hume,  the 
American  spiritualist,  a  doubtful  character,  who  had  been  at 
Versailles,  and  who  was  to  be  arrested  if  he  showed  himself 
here  again.  The  Chief  then  said :  "  The  fellow  managed  to 
sneak  into  the  Crown  Prince's.  But  that  is  explained  by  the 
fact  that  whoever  can  speak  even  broken  English  is  welcome 
there.  The  next  thing  will  be  for  them  to  appoint  Colonel 
Walker  my  successor  as  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation."  ^ 
Bohlen  exclaimed,  "  I  suppose  you  know  that  Garibaldi  has 
been  thrashed."  Some  one  observed  that  if  he  were  taken  pris- 
oner he  ought  to  be  shot  for  having  meddled  in  the  war  without 
authority.  "  They  ought  to  be  first  put  into  a  cage  like  beasts 
in  a  menagerie,"  said  Bohlen.  "No,"  said  the  Minister;  "I 
have  another  idea.  They  should  be  taken  to  Berlin,  and 
marched  through  the  town  with  these  words  on  a  placard  sus- 
pended round  their  necks,  '  Italians,  House  of  Correction,  In- 
gratitude,' and  be  then  marched  through  the  town."  "And 
afterwards  to  Spandau,"  suggested  Bohlen.  The  Chief  added, 
"  Or  one  might  inscribe  merely  the  words,  '  Italians,  Venice, 
Spandau.' " 

The  Bavarian  question  and  the  situation  at  Munich  was  then 
discussed.  The  Chief  said :  "  The  King  is  undecided.  It  is 
obvious  that  he  would  rather  not.  He  accordingly  pretends  to 
be  ill,  has  toothache,  keeps  to  his  bed,  where  the  Ministers  can- 
not reach  him.     Or  he  retires  to  a  distant  hunting-box  in  the 

1  Walker,  the  English  Kutusoff  of  Count  Bismarck-Bohlen,  H.B.M.'s  IMilitary 
Plenipotentiary  at  headquarters,  was  not  held  in  much  estimation  by  the  Chancellor 
and  his  entourage. 

247 


248  BISHOP  DUPANLOUP  [Nov.  28 

mountains  to  which  there  is  no  telegraph  line,  nor  even  a 
proper  road." 

Some  one  having  remarked  that  in  the  present  circumstances 
he  is,  after  all,  the  best  Bavarian  ruler  for  our  purposes,  the 
Chief  said:  "Yes;  if  he  were  to  die  he  would  be  succeeded  by 
little  Otto,  whom  we  have  had  here.  A  poor  creature,  with 
very  little  intelligence.  He  would  be  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
the  Austrians  and  Ultramontanes.  He  has  ruined  himself; 
that  is,  if  he  was  ever  worth  anything." 

General  Reille's  name  again  brought  up  the  question  of 
Napoleon's  surrender.  "  The  King  thought,"  said  the  Chan- 
cellor, "on  reading  Napoleon's  letter,  that  it  meant  more  for 
us  than  it  did.  '  He  must  at  least  surrender  Metz  to  us,'  said 
the  King  to  me.  I  replied,  'I  do  not  know,  your  Majesty;  we 
are  not  aware  what  power  he  still  has  over  the  troops.'  The 
Emperor  should  not  have  needlessly  surrendered  himself  as  a 
prisoner,  but  have  made  peace  with  us.  His  generals  would 
have  followed  him."  The  Minister  then  again  related  the  in- 
cident of  the  letter  Weimar  wished  to  write  to  the  Emperor 
Alexander ;  and  it  appeared  that  the  day  before  yesterday  the 
Chief  had,  in  a  moment  of  irritation,  represented  the  expressions 
which  he  had  used  in  speaking  to  the  Grand  Duke  as  stronger 
than  they  actually  were.  According  to  the  present  account, 
Weimar  said,  in  conclusion,  that  his  only  object  was  a  patriotic 
one.  He  (the  Minister)  replied  he  quite  believed  that,  but  it 
would  not  make  the  letter  any  more  useful.  The  letter  has 
probably  not  been  sent  off. 

The  question  of  the  bombardment  then  came  up,  and,  in 
connection  therewith,  the  intrigues  which  are  now  being  carried 
on  by  Bishop  Dupanloup,  and  the  part  he  played  in  the  opposi- 
tion at  the  Vatican  Council.  "Women  and  freemasons,"  said 
the  Chief,  "  are  chiefly  responsible  if  our  operations  against 
Paris  are  not  conducted  as  energetically  as  they  should  be. 
Dupanloup  has  influenced  Augusta.  .  .  .  He  also  wrote  me  a 
pile  of  letters,  and  took  me  in  to  such  an  extent  that  I  sent 
them  to  Twickenham."  (The  Chancellor  must  have  meant 
Chislehurst.)  "  He  must  be  packed  off  when  our  people  get  to 
Orleans,  so  that  Von  der  Tann  may  not  be  swindled  by  him." 
.  .  .  "That  reminds  me,"  continued  the  Chief,  "that  the 
Pope  has  written  a  very  nice  letter  to  the  French   Bishops,  or 


1870J  llIK  CROWN    PRIN'CK   AND   THK   BOMBARDMKNT  249 

to  several  of  them,  saying  that  they  should  n(;t  enter  into  any 
understanding;  with  the  Garibaldians." 

Somebody  having  expressed  anxiety  about  some  matter 
which  I  was  unable  to  catch,  the  Chief  observed  :  "  A  more 
important  question  for  me  —  indeed,  the  most  important  —  is 
what  will  be  done  at  Villa  Coublay ;  that  is  the  main  point. 
The  Crown  Prince  said  recently,  when  I  mentioned  the  matter 
to  him,  '  I  am  ready  to  give  up  the  command  for  that  purpose.' 
I  felt  like  replying,  '  And  I  am  prepared  to  assume  it.'  Give  me 
the  post  of  Commander-in-Chief  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  I 
will  take  it  upon  myself.  I  would  then  give  one  command 
only  :  '  Commence  the  bombardment.'  " 

Villa  Coublay  is  a  place  not  far  from  Versailles,  where  the 
siege  park  has  been  collected  and  still  remains,  instead  of  being 
placed  in  position.  Bucher  tells  me  that  the  Chancellor  has 
appealed  directly  to  the  King  to  hasten  the  bombardment.  The 
Chief  continued  :  "The  assertion  of  the  generals  that  they  have 
not  enough  ammunition  is  untrue.  They  do  not  want  to  begin 
because  the  Heir  Apparent  does  not  wish  it.  He  does  not 
wish  it  because  his  wife  and  his  mother-in-law  are  against  it. 

"  They  have  brought  together  three  hundred  cannon  and 
fifty  or  sixty  mortars,  and  five  hundred  rounds  of  ammunition 
for  each  gun.  That  is  certainly  enough.  I  have  been  speak- 
ing to  artillerymen,  who  said  that  they  had  not  used  half  as 
much  ammunition  at  Strasburg  as  they  have  collected  here ; 
and  Strasburg  was  a  Gibraltar  compared  to  Paris.  It  would 
be  easy  to  fire  the  barracks  on  Mont  Valerien,  and  if  the  forts 
of  Issy  and  Vanvres  were  properly  shelled  so  that  the  garrisons 
should  be  compelled  to  bolt,  the  enceinte  (of  course  we  know  it) 
would  be  of  little  importance.  The  ditch  is  not  broader  than 
the  length  of  this  room.  I  am  convinced  that  if  we  poured 
shells  into  the  city  itself  for  five  or  six  days,  and  they  found 
out  that  our  guns  reached  farther  than  theirs — that  is  to  say, 
9,000  yards  —  Paris  would  give  in.  True  enough  the  wealthier 
quarters  are  on  this  side  of  the  city,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  indif- 
ference to  the  people  at  Belleville  whether  we  blow  them  to 
pieces  or  not ;  indeed,  they  are  pleased  when  we  destroy  the 
houses  of  the  richer  classes.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  ought  to 
have  attacked  Paris  from  another  direction ;  or  still  better,  left 
it  altogether  alone,  and  continued  our  forward  march.     Now, 


250  NO   COERCION   FOR   SOUTH   GERMANY  [Nov.  28 

however,  that  we  have  begun,  we  must  set  about  the  affair  in 
earnest.  Starving  them  out  may  last  a  long  time,  perhaps  till 
the  spring.  At  any  rate,  they  have  flour  enough  up  to  Janu- 
ary. ...  If  we  had  begun  the  bombardment  at  the  right  time, 
there  would  have  been  no  question  of  the  Loire  army.  After 
the  engagement  at  Orleans,  where  Von  der  Tann  was  obliged 
to  retire,  the  military  authorities  (not  I)  regarded  our  position 
in  Versailles  as  critical.  Had  we  begun  the  bombardment  four 
weeks  ago,  we  should  now  in  all  probability  be  in  Paris,  and 
that  is  the  main  point.  As  it  is,  however,  the  Parisians  imagine 
that  we  are  forbidden  to  fire  by  London,  St.  Petersburg,  and 
Vienna ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  neutral  Powers  believe 
that  we  are  not  able  to  do  so.  The  true  reason,  however,  will 
be  known  at  a  future  time.  One  of  its  consequences  will  be  to 
lead  to  a  restriction  of  personal  rule." 

In  the  evening  I  telegraphed  to  London  that  the  Reichstag 
had  voted  another  hundred  million  thalers  for  the  continuation 
of  the  war  with  France,  eight  social  democrats  alone  opposing 
the  grant.  Also  that  Manteuffel  has  occupied  Amiens.  Sev- 
eral paragraphs  were  afterwards  written  for  the  NorddciitscJtc, 
including  one  (on  the  directions  of  the  Chief)  in  which  the 
moderate  demands  of  the  Chancellor  in  the  negotiations  with 
Bavaria  were  defended  as  being  not  only  right  and  fair,  but 
also  wise  and  prudent.  I  said  that  the  object  was  not  so  much 
to  secure  this  or  that  desirable  concession  from  the  authorities 
at  Munich  as  to  make  the  South  German  States  feel  satisfied  in 
forming  part  of  the  new  organisation  of  united  Germany.  Any 
pressure  or  coercion  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  further  con- 
cessions would,  in  view  of  the  circumstance  that  they  had 
fulfilled  their  patriotic  duty,  be  an  act  of  ingratitude ;  while,  in 
addition,  it  would  have  been,  above  all  things,  impolitic  to 
show  ourselves  more  exacting  in  our  demands  upon  our  allies. 
The  discontent  which  would  have  resulted  from  such  an  exer- 
cise of  force  would  have  far  outweighed  half  a  dozen  more 
favourable  clauses  in  the  Treaty.  That  discontent  would  soon 
have  shown  the  neutral  Powers,  such  as  Austria,  where  to 
insert  the  thin  edge  of  the  wedge  in  order  to  loosen  and  ulti- 
mately destroy  the  unity  which  had  been  achieved. 

At  dinner  I  suggested  to  lUicher  that  it  might  be  well  to 
ask  thi:  Chief's  leave  to  hint  in  the  press  at  the  real  cause  of 


iSjo)  A1TACKI\<;   "AUGUSTA"  251 

the  postponement  of  the  bombardment.  He  agreed  with  me 
that  it  would,  and  added :  "  I  myself  have  already  vehemently 
attacked  Augusta  in  the  newspapers,"  On  the  Chancellor 
sending  for  me  in  the  evening,  I  said :  "  May  I  venture  to  ask 
your  Excellency  a  question  ?  Would  you  have  any  objection 
if  I  made  a  communication,  in  an  indirect  way,  to  non-official 
organs  respecting  the  causes  of  the  postponement  of  the  bom- 
bardment, in  the  sense  in  which  they  have  repeatedly  been 
discussed  at  table  ? "  He  reflected  for  a  moment,  and  then 
said,  "  Do  as  you  like."  I  accordingly  wrote  two  paragraphs 
—  one  for  the  VossiscJie  Zeitiing,  and  one  for  the  Wcscr  Zeitinig, 
which  I  had  copied  out  by  another  hand  in  Berlin,  and  for- 
warded to  their  destination. 

One  of  these  paragraphs  ran  as  follows :  — 

"  Versailles,  November  29th.  It  has  been  asserted  here 
for  some  considerable  time  past  that  the  real  cause  of  the  post- 
ponement of  the  bombardment  is  not  so  much  a  scarcity  of 
ammunition  for  the  siege  guns  that  were  brought  here  weeks 
ago,  nor  the  strength  of  the  forts  and  ramparts  of  Paris ;  in 
short,  that  the  delay  is  not  due  to  military  considerations,  but 
rather  to  the  influence  of  very  highly  placed  ladies,  and  —  can 
it  be  credited  .''  —  of  freemasons.  I  can  assure  you,  on  very  good 
authority,  that  these  rumours  are  not  unfounded.  I  have  no 
reason  to  apprehend  a  denial  when  I  add  that  the  interference 
of  one  of  these  ladies  has  been  prompted  by  a  well-known 
French  prelate,  who  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  opposition 
at  the  Vatican  Council.  For  the  moment  we  would  only  ask 
a  few  questions :  Is  it  true  humanity  to  let  masses  of  gallant 
soldiers  fall  a  prey  to  the  hardships  of  the  investment  by  post- 
poning an  artillery  attack  merely  in  order  to  save  a  hostile  city 
from  damage .-'  Is  it  good  policy  to  let  the  impression  produced 
by  Sedan  upon  the  neutral  Powers  be  frittered  away  by  such  a 
postponement .''  Is  that  true  freemasonry  which  troubles  itself 
with  political  questions }  It  was  thought  hitherto  that  politics 
were  not  permitted  to  enter  into  the  German  lodges." 

Tuesday,  November  29///.  —  In  the  afternoon  I  sent  off  an- 
other article  on  the  Treaty  with  Bavaria,  which  is  to  be  repro- 
duced and  circulated  in  Berlin.  It  is  becoming  more  and  more 
difficult  to  satisfy  the  people  there. 

Lieutenant-General  von  Hartrott  joined  us  at  dinner.     The 


252  THE   KING   DOES   NOT   KNOW   HOW  TO   LIE  [Nov.  29 

distribution  of  the  Iron  Cross  having  been  mentioned,  the  Chief 
observed :  "  The  army  doctors  should  receive  the  black  and 
white  ribbon.  They  are  under  fire,  and  it  requires  much  more 
courage  and  determination  to  quietly  allow  one's  self  to  be  shot 
at  than  to  rush  forward  to  the  attack.  .  .  .  Blumenthal  said 
to  me  that  properly  speaking  he  could  do  nothing  to  deserve 
the  Cross,  as  he  was  bound  in  duty  to  keep  out  of  danger  of 
being  shot.  For  that  reason  when  in  battle  he  always  sought 
a  position  from  which  he  could  see  well  but  could  not  be  easily 
hit.  And  he  was  perfectly  right.  A  general  who  exposes  him- 
self unnecessarily  ought  to  be  put  under  arrest." 

The  Chancellor  then  remarked  suddenly:  "The  King  told 
me  an  untruth  to-day.  I  asked  him  if  the  bombardment  was 
not  to  commence,  and  he  replied  that  he  had  ordered  it.  But 
I  knew  immediately  that  that  was  not  true.  I  know  him.  He 
cannot  lie,  or  at  least  not  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot  be  de- 
tected. He  at  once  changes  colour,  and  it  was  particularly 
noticeable  when  he  replied  to  my  question  to-day.  When  I 
looked  at  him  straight  into  his  eyes  he  could  not  stand  it." 
The  conversation  then  turned  upon  the  conduct  of  the  war. 
The  Minister  said:  "Humility  alone  leads  to  victory;  pride 
and  self-conceit  to  an  opposite  result." 

The  Chancellor,  speaking  of  his  friend  Dietzc,  talked  of  his 
natural  inborn  heartiness — politesse  dii  canr.  Abeken  asked  if 
that  term  was  originally  French,  as  Goethe  uses  it  —  Hdjiichkcit 
des  Herzens  ?  "  It  must  come  from  the  German,  I  fancy."  "  It 
certainly  does,"  replied  the  Chief.  "  It  is  only  to  be  found 
amongst  the  Germans.  I  should  call  it  the  politeness  of  good- 
will —  good  nature  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  the  politeness 
of  heljiful  benevolent  feeling.  You  find  that  amongst  our  com- 
mon soldiers,  although,  of  course,  it  is  sometimes  expressed 
rather  crudely.  The  ?"rencli  have  not  got  it.  They  only  know 
the  politeness  of  hatred  and  envy.  It  would  be  easier  to  find 
something  of  the  kind  amongst  the  English,"  he  added ;  and 
then  went  on  to  praise  Odo  Russell,  whose  pleasant,  natural 
manner  he  greatly  appreciated.  "  At  fir.st  one  thing  aroused  a 
little  suspicion  against  him  in  my  mind.  I  have  always  heard 
and  found  that  Englishmen  who  know  French  well  are  not 
worth  much,  and  he  speaks  quite  excellent  French.  But  he 
can  also  express  himself  very  well  in  German." 


iS-jo]  (^UKEN   VICTORIA'S   "SENTIMENTALITY"  253 

At  dessert  the  Minister  said :  "  I  recognise  that  I  eat  too 
much,  or,  more  correctly,  too  much  at  a  time.  It  is  a  pity  that 
I  cannot  get  rid  of  the  absurd  practice  of  only  eating  once  a 
day.  Formerly  it  was  still  worse.  In  the  morning  I  drank  my 
tea  and  ate  nothing  until  5  o'clock  in  the  evening,  while  I  smoked 
incessantly.  That  did  me  a  great  deal  of  harm.  Now,  on  the 
advice  of  my  doctor,  I  take  at  least  two  eggs  in  the  morning 
and  smoke  little.  But  I  should  eat  oftener ;  yet  if  I  take  any- 
thing late  I  cannot  sleep,  as  I  only  digest  while  awake.  This 
morning,  however,  I  got  up  early.  I  was  waked  by  the  firing 
just  at  the  time  when  I  sleep  best,  that  is  between  7  and  9 
o'clock,  and  as  it  seemed  to  be  near  I  sent  to  inquire  if  the  King 
was  going  to  the  scene  of  the  engagement.  Otherwise  he  might 
start  suddenly  and  go  nobody  knows  where,  or  where  nothing  is 
to  be  seen." 

While  at  tea  the  conversation  turned  once  more  on  the  now 
constant  theme  of  the  postponement  of  the  bombardment,  and 
afterwards  on  the  Geneva  Convention,  which  the  Minister  said 
must  be  denounced,  as  it  was  impossible  to  conduct  war  in  that 
manner. 

"  The  principal  reason  why  the  bombardment  is  delayed," 
said  the  Chancellor,  "  is  the  sentimentality  of  the  Queen  of 
England  and  the  interference  of  Queen  Augusta.  .  .  .  That 
seems  to  be  a  characteristic  of  the  Hohenzollerns — their  women 
folk  have  always  a  great  influence  upon  them.  It  was  not  so 
with  Frederick  the  Great,  but  with  his  successor  and  the  late 
King,  as  well  as  the  present  Most  Gracious  and  his  future 
Majesty.  The  most  curious  example  is  that  of  Prince  Charles, 
who  is  anything  but  a  good  husband,  and  yet  depends  upon  his 
wife ;  indeed,  he  is  thoroughly  afraid  of  her  and  is  guided  by  her 
wishes.  .  .  .  But  it  is  somewhat  different  with  these  two  (the 
King  and  the  Crown  Prince).  They  want  to  be  praised.  They 
like  to  have  it  said  in  the  English  and  French  press  that  they 
are  considerate  and  generous.  They  find  that  the  Germans 
praise  them  enough  as  it  is." 

It  appears  that  Delbriick  has  not  expressed  himself  very 
clearly  in  his  telegram  respecting  the  prospect  of  the  agree- 
ment with  Bavaria  being  sanctioned  by  the  Diet.  It  seems  as 
if  there  were  not  sufficient  members  present  to  form  the  neces- 
sary quorum,  and  that  it  would  be  opposed  both  by  the  Pro- 


254  PROGRESSISTS  AND   NATIONAL   LIBERALS  [Nov.  30 

gressists  and  National  Liberals.  The  Chief  observed  :  "  So  far 
as  the  Progressists  arc  concerned,  their  conduct  is  consistent. 
They  wish  to  return  to  the  state  of  affairs  which  prevailed  in 
1849.  But  the  National  Liberals.^  If  they  will  not  have  now 
what  they  were  striving  for  with  all  their  might  at  the  begin- 
nnig  of  the  year,  in  February,  and  what  it  now  depends  upon 
them  to  secure,  then  we  must  dissolve.  The  new  elections  will 
weaken  the  Progressist  party  still  more,  and  some  of  the  Na- 
tional Liberals  will  also  lose  their  seats.  But  in  that  case  the 
Treaties  would  not  be  completed,  Bavaria  would  reconsider  the 
matter,  Beust  would  put  his  finger  in  the  pie,  and  we  do  not 
know  what  the  result  would  be.  I  cannot  well  go  to  Berlin. 
It  is  a  very  uncomfortable  journey  and  takes  up  a  lot  of  time, 
and  besides  I  am  really  wanted  here." 

Proceeding  from  this  point  the  Minister  spoke  of  the  posi- 
tion of  affairs  in  1848.  "  At  that  period  the  situation  was  for  a 
long  time  very  favourable  for  the  unification  of  Germany  under 
Prussia.  The  smaller  Sovereigns  were  for  the  most  part 
powerless  and  despondent.  If  they  could  only  save  their 
money,  their  domains,  and  their  appropriations,  they  were  pre- 
pared to  consent  to  everything.  The  Austrians  were  engaged 
with  Hungary  and  Italy.  The  Tsar  Nicholas  would  not  have 
intervened  at  that  time.  If  they  had  only  acted  in  a  resolute 
way  previous  to  May,  1849,  ^rid  come  to  terms  with  the  smaller 
States,  they  would  doubtless  have  carried  the  South  with  them, 
particularly  if  the  Wurtemberg  and  Bavarian  armies  joined  the 
Baden  revolution,  which  was  not  impossible  at  that  stage. 
Time  was  lost,  however,  through  hesitation  and  haU  measures, 
and  so  the  opportunity  was  thrown  away." 

About  1 1  o'clock  another  telegram  arrived  from  Verdy  re- 
specting this  morning's  sortie,  w-hich  was  directed  against  La 
Haye.  Five  hundred  red  breeches  were  made  prisoners.  The 
Chief  bitterly  regretted  that  further  prisoners  should  be  taken, 
and  that  it  was  not  possible  to  shoot  them  down  on  the  spot. 
"  We  have  more  than  enough  of  them,  while  the  Parisians  have 
the  advantage  of  getting  rid  of  so  many  mouths  to  feed,  which 
must  now  be  supplied  by  us,  and  for  whom  we  can  hardly  find 
room." 

Wednesday,  November  30///. — Wrote  fully  to  Trcitschke, 
giving  him  the  reasons  why  the  demands  which  he  and  those 


1870J  THE   NKUCIIATKL   (^LKSTIO.N  255 

of  his  way  of  thinking  consider  absohitcly  necessary  had  not 
been  made  u]:)on  the  Bavarians.  Arranged  to  have  a  similar 
communication  made  to  Schmidt. 

The  Chief  seems  to  be  seriously  considering  the  idea  of  ask- 
ing the  King  to  relieve  him  of  his  office.  According  to  Bucher, 
he  is  already  on  the  point  of  resigning. 

"The  Chief,"  he  said,  "informed  me  of  something  to-day 
which  nobody  else  knows.  He  is  seriously  considering  whether 
he  will  not  break  with  the  King."  I  said  that  in  that  case 
I  should  also  take  my  leave.  I  did  not  wish  to  serve  under 
any  one  else.  Bucher :  "  Nor  I  either.  I,  too,  would  then 
resign." 

At  dinner,  at  which  Prince  Putbus  and  Odo  Russell  were 
present,  the  Chief  related  that  he  had  once  tried  to  use  his 
knowledge  of  State  secrets  for  the  purpose  of  speculating  in 
stocks,  but  that  his  attempt  was  not  successful.  "  I  was  com- 
missioned in  Berlin,"  he  said,  "  to  speak  to  Napoleon  on  the 
question  of  Neuchatel.  It  must  have  been  in  the  spring  of  1857. 
I  was  to  inquire  as  to  his  attitude  towards  that  question.  Now, 
I  knew  that  his  answer  would  be  favourable,  and  that  this  would 
mean  a  war  with  Switzerland.  Accordingly,  on  my  way  through 
Frankfort,  where  I  lived  at  that  time,  I  called  upon  Rothschild, 
whom  I  knew  well,  and  told  him  I  intended  to  sell  certain  stock 
which  I  held,  and  which  showed  no  disposition  to  rise.  '  I 
would  not  do  that,'  said  Rothschild.  *  That  stock  has  good 
prospects.  You  will  see.'  *  Yes,'  I  said,  '  but  if  you  knew 
the  object  of  my  journey  you  would  think  otherwise.'  He  re- 
plied that,  however  that  might  be,  he  could  not  advise  me  to 
sell.  But  I  knew  better,  sold  out,  and  departed.  In  Paris, 
Napoleon  was  very  pleasant  and  amiable.  It  was  true  he  could 
not  agree,  as  the  King  wanted  to  let  us  march  through  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  W'hich  would  create  great  excitement  in  France,  but  in 
every  other  respect  he  entirely  approved  of  our  plans.  It  could 
only  be  a  matter  of  satisfaction  to  him  \i.  that  nest  of  democrats 
were  cleared  out.  I  was,  therefore,  so  far  successful.  But  I 
had  not  reckoned  with  my  King,  who  had  in  the  meantime,  be- 
hind my  back,  made  different  arrangements  —  probably  out  of 
consideration  for  Austria ;  and  so  the  affair  was  dropped. 
There  was  no  war,  and  my  stock  rose  steadily  from  that  time 
forward,  and  I  had  reason  to  regret  parting  with  it." 


256  THE   PRUSSIAN   EMBASSIES   ABROAD  [Nov.  30 

Villa  Coublay  and  the  bombardment  were  then  referred  to, 
and  the  alleged  impossibility  of  bringing  up  at  once  the  neces- 
sary supply  of  ammunition.  The  Chief  said :  "  I  have  already 
informed  the  august  gentlemen  a  couple  of  times  that  we  have 
here  a  whole  herd  of  horses  that  must  be  ridden  out  daily  merely 
for  exercise.  Why  should  they  not  be  employed  for  once  to 
better  purpose  ?  " 

It  was  mentioned  that  the  Palazzo  Caffarelli  in  Rome  had 
been  purchased  for  the  German  Embassy,  and  both  Russell 
and  Abeken  said  it  was  a  very  fine  building.  The  Chancellor 
observed :  "  Well,  we  have  also  handsome  houses  elsewhere,  in 
Paris  and  in  London.  According  to  Continental  ideas,  however, 
the  London  house  is  too  small.  Bernstorff  has  so  little  room 
that  he  has  to  give  up  his  own  apartments  when  he  has  a  re- 
ception or  any  other  function  of  the  kind.  His  Secretary  of 
Embassy  is  better  off  in  that  respect.  The  Embassy  in  Paris 
is  handsome  and  well  situated.  Indeed,  it  is  probably  the  best 
Embassy  in  Paris,  and  represents  a  considerable  money  value, 
so  that  it  has  already  occurred  to  me  whether  it  might  not  be 
well  to  sell  it  and  give  the  interest  on  the  capital  to  the  Ambas- 
sador as  an  allowance  for  rent.  The  interest  on  two  and  a  half 
million  francs  would  be  a  considerable  addition  to  his  salary, 
which  only  amounts  to  one  hundred  thousand  francs.  But  on 
thinking  the  matter  over  more,  I  found  that  it  would  not  do.  It 
is  not  becoming,  not  worthy  of  a  great  State,  that  its  Ambassa- 
dor should  live  in  a  hired  house,  where  he  would  be  subject  to 
notice  to  quit,  and  on  leaving  would  have  to  remove  the  archives 
in  a  cart.  We  ought,  and  must  have,  our  own  houses  every- 
where." ...  "  Our  London  house  is  an  exceptional  case.  It 
belongs  to  the  King,  and  everything  depends  on  the  way  in 
which  the  Ambassador  knows  how  to  look  after  his  own  inter- 
ests. It  may  happen  that  the  King  receives  no  rent  —  that 
actually  does  occur  sometimes." 

The  Chief  spoke  very  highly  of  Napier,  the  former  English 
Ambassador  in  licrlin.  "  He  was  very  easy  to  get  on  with. 
Buchanan  was  also  a  good  man,  rather  dry,  perhaps,  but  abso- 
lutely trustworthy.  Now  we  have  Loftus.  The  position  of  an 
English  Ambassador  in  Ikrliii  has  its  own  special  duties  and 
difficulties,  if  only  on  account  of  the  personal  relations  of  the 
two  Royal  families.     It  demands  a  great  deal  of  tact  and  care." 


iSjoJ  THK   CROWN    PKINCE'S   KNGLISII    LtTlTHRS  257 

(Presumably  a  quiet  hint  that  Loftus  docs  not  fulfil  those  re- 
quirements.) 

The  Minister  then  led  the  conversation  on  to  Grammont. 
He  said:  "Grammont  and  Ollivier  strike  me  also  as  a  pretty 
pair!  If  that  had  happened  to  me  —  if  I  had  been  the  cause  of 
such  disasters,  I  would  at  least  have  joined  a  regiment,  or,  for 
the  matter  of  that,  have  become  a  franctireur,  even  if  I  had  had 
to  swing  for  it.  A  tall,  strong,  coarse  fellow  like  Grammont 
would  be  exactly  suited  for  a  soldier's  life." 

Russell  mentioned  having  once  seen  Grammont  out  shooting 
in  Rome  dressed  in  blue  velvet.  "Yes,"  added  the  Chief,  "he 
is  a  good  sportsman.  He  has  the  strength  of  muscle  required 
for  it.  He  would  have  made  an  excellent  gamekeeper.  But  as 
a  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  one  can  hardly  conceive  how 
Napoleon  came  to  select  him." 

The  Minister  joined  us  at  the  tea-table  about  10  o'clock,  and 
referred  again  to  the  bombardment.  He  said  :  "  I  did  not  from 
the  very  beginning  wish  to  have  Paris  invested.  If  what  the 
general  staff  said  at  Ferri^res  were  correct,  namely,  that  they 
could  dispose  of  a  couple  of  the  forts  in  three  days,  and  then 
attack  the  weak  enceinte,  it  would  have  been  all  right.  But  it 
was  a  mistake  to  let  60,000  regulars  keep  an  army  of  200,000 
men  engaged  in  watching  them."  "  One  month  up  to  Sedan, 
and  here  we  have  already  spent  three  months,  for  to-morrow  is 
the  1st  of  December.  If  we  had  telegraphed  immediately  after 
Sedan  for  siege  guns  we  should  be  now  in  the  city,  and  there 
would  be  no  intervention  on  the  part  of  the  neutral  Powers.  If 
I  had  known  that  three  months  ago,  I  should  have  been  ex- 
tremely anxious.  The  danger  of  intervention  on  the  part  of  the 
neutral  Powers  increases  daily.  It  begins  in  a  friendly  way, 
but  it  may  end  very  badly."  Keudell  remarked  :  "The  idea  of 
not  bombarding  first  arose  here."  "Yes,"  replied  the  Chief, 
"through  the  English  letters  to  the  Crown  Prince." 

Thursday,  December  \st. — We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  a 
first  lieutenant.  Von  Saldern,  who  took  part  in  the  last  engage- 
ment between  the  lOth  Army  Corps  and  the  Loire  army.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  that  corps  was  for  a  considerable  time  surrounded 
by  the  superior  French  force  at  Beaune  la  Rolande,  the  enemy 
endeavouring  to  force  their  way  through  one  of  our  wings  towards 
P'ontainebleau.      Our   soldiers    defended   themselves    with    the 

VOL.  I.  —  s 


25S  TlIK   BLACK   SEA   COiNFEKENCE  [Dec.  1 

greatest  gallantry  and  determination  for  seven  hours,  Wedel's 
troops  and  the  men  of  the  i6th  regiment  specially  distinguish- 
ing themselves.  "  We  made  over  1600  prisoners,"  said  Saldern, 
"  and  the  total  loss  of  the  French  is  estimated  at  four  to  five 
thousand."  "  I  should  have  been  better  pleased,"  said  the 
Chief,  "  if  they  had  all  been  corpses.  It  is  simply  a  disadvan- 
tage to  us  now  to  make  prisoners." 

The  Chief  afterwards  gave  Abeken  instructions  respecting 
communications  to  be  made  to  the  King.  The  Chancellor 
looked  through  a  number  of  despatches  and  reports  with  him. 
Pointing  to  one  document  he  said :  "  Do  not  give  him  that  with- 
out an  explanation.  Tell  him  how  the  matter  arose,  otherwise 
he  will  misunderstand  it.     That  long  despatch  from  Bernstorff 

—  well,  you  can  show  him  that  also.  But  the  newspaper  article 
enclosed  —  the  gentlemen  of  the  Embassy  take  things  very  easy 

—  I  have  already  said  frequently  that  such  articles  must  be 
translated,  or,  better  still,  that  they  should  be  accompanied  by  a 
precis.  And  tell  his  Majesty  also,"  said  the  Minister  in  conclu- 
sion, "  that,  properly  speaking,  we  ought  not  to  allow  the  French- 
man to  join  the  Conference  in  London  "  (the  approaching  Con- 
ference on  the  revision  of  the  Paris  Treaty  of  1856),  "as  he 
would  represent  a  Government  which  is  not  recognised  by  the 
Powers,  and  which  will  have  no  legal  existence  for  a  long  time 
to  come.  We  can  do  it  to  please  Russia  in  this  question.  At 
any  rate,  if  he  begins  to  speak  of  other  matters  he  must  at  once 
be  sent  about  his  business." 

The  Chief  then  related  the  following  incident :  "  To-day, 
after  calling  upon  Roon,  I  made  a  round  which  may  prove  to 
have  been  useful.  I  inspected  Marie  Antoinette's  apartment 
in  the  palace,  and  then  I  thought  I  would  see  how  the  wounded 
were  getting  on.  The  servant  who  acted  as  my  guide  had  a 
pass-key,  so  I  decided  not  to  go  in  by  the  main  entrance,  but 
by  the  back  way.  I  asked  one  of  the  hospital  attendants  what 
food  the  people  had.  Not  very  much.  A  little  soup,  which 
was  supposed  to  be  bouillon,  with  broken  bread  and  some  grains 
of  rice,  which  were  not  even  boiled  soft.  There  was  hardly 
any  meat  fat  in  it.  '  And  how  about  wine,  and  do  they  get 
any  beer  ? '  I  asked.  They  got  about  half  a  glass  of  wine  dur- 
ing the  day,  he  said.  I  inquired  of  another,  who  had  had  none, 
and  then  of  a  third,  who  had  had  some  three  days  ago  and  none 


iSjuJ  BISMARCK    VlblTS   TllK   IIUSITIALS  259 

since  then.  I  then  went  on  to  question  several  of  the  men,  in 
all  about  a  dozen,  down  to  the  Poles,  who  could  not  understand 
me,  but  showed  their  pleasure  at  somebody  taking  an  interest 
in  them  by  smiling.  So  that  our  poor  wounded  soldiers  do  not 
get  what  they  ought  to,  and  suffer  from  cold  besides,  because 
the  rooms  must  not  be  warmed  for  fear  of  injuring  the  pictures. 
As  if  the  life  of  one  of  our  soldiers  was  not  worth  more  than 
all  the  trashy  pictures  in  the  palace !  The  servant  told  me  also 
that  the  oil  lamps  only  remained  alight  until  1 1  o'clock,  and 
that  after  that  the  men  have  to  lie  in  the  dark  until  morning. 
I  had  previously  spoken  to  a  non-commissioned  officer,  who  was 
wounded  in  the  foot.  He  said  he  did  not  want  to  complain, 
although  things  could  be  much  better.  Some  consideration  was 
paid  to  him,  but  as  to  the  others  !  A  member  of  the  Bavarian 
Ambulance  Corps  now  plucked  up  courage,  and  said  that  wine 
and  beer  had  been  provided,  but  that  half  of  it  had  probably 
been  intercepted  somewhere  ;  it  was  the  same  with  hot  food 
and  other  presents.  I  then  made  my  way  to  the  chief  surgeon. 
'Mow  about  provisions  for  the  wounded.-''  I  asked.  '  Do  they 
get  enough  to  eat.?'  'Here  is  the  bill  of  fare,'  he  replied. 
'  That  is  no  good  to  me,'  I  said  ;  '  the  people  cannot  eat  paper. 
Do  they  get  wine.?'  'Half  a  litre  daily.'  'Excuse  me,  but 
that  is  not  true.  I  have  questioned  the  men,  and  I  cannot 
believe  they  were  lying  when  they  told  me  that  they  had  not 
received  any.'  '  I  call  God  to  witness  that  everything  here  is 
done  properly  and  according  to  instructions.  Please  come  with 
me  and  I  will  question  the  men  in  your  presence.'  '  I  will  do 
nothing  of  the  kind,'  I  answered;  'but  measures  shall  be 
taken  to  have  them  questioned  by  the  auditor  as  to  whether 
they  have  received  what  has  been  ordered  for  them  by  the 
inspector.'  He  turned  deadly  pale  —  I  see  him  now  —  an  old 
wound  showed  up  on  his  face.  '  That  would  be  a  great  reflec- 
tion upon  me,'  he  said.  '  Certainly,'  I  replied,  '  and  it  ought  to 
be.  I  shall  take  care  that  the  affair  is  inquired  into  —  and 
speedily. '1  .  .  .  What  I  should  like  best  would  be  to  induce 
the  King  to  visit  the  wounded  with  me."    He  afterwards  added  : 

^  These  suspicions,  though  fully  justified  by  appearances,  were  subsequently 
shown  to  be  for  the  greater  part  unfounded,  except  that  there  was  inadequate  pro- 
vision for  the  requirements  of  the  wounded.  I  reproduce  the  episode  as  evidence  of 
the  Minister's  usual  humane  feeling  and  love  of  justice. 


26o  THE   PRESS   AND   THE   BAVARIAN   TREATY  [Dec.  i 

"  We  have  two  classes  in  particular  amongst  whom  frauds 
occur :  the  weevils  that  have  to  do  with  the  commissariat  and 
the  officials  in  the  public  works  department,  especially  in  the 
water  works.  Then  the  doctors.  I  remember  not  long  ago  — 
it  must  be  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago — there  was  a  great 
inquiry  into  frauds  connected  with  the  passing  of  recruits  for 
the  army,  in  which,  to  my  amazement,  some  thirty  doctors  were 
involved." 

About  10.30  P.M.  the  Chief  joined  us  at  tea.  After  a  while 
he  remarked  :  "  The  newspapers  are  dissatisfied  with  the  Bava- 
rian Treaty.  I  expected  as  much  from  the  beginning.  They 
are  displeased  that  certain  officials  are  called  Bavarian,  although 
they  will  have  to  conform  entirely  to  our  laws.  And  the  same 
with  regard  to  the  army.  The  beer  tax  is  also  not  to  their 
liking,  as  if  we  had  not  had  it  for  years  past  in  the  Zollvercin. 
And  so  on  with  a  crowd  of  other  objections,  although  after  all  the 
important  point  has  been  attained  and  properly  secured."  .  .  . 
"They  talk  as  if  we  had  been  waging  war  against  Bavaria  as  we 
did  in  1866  against  Saxony,  although  this  time  we  have  Bavaria 
as  an  ally  on  our  side."  .  .  .  "Before  approving  the  treaty  they 
want  to  wait  and  see  whether  the  unity  of  Germany  will  be 
secured  in  the  form  they  prefer.  They  can  wait  a  long  time 
for  that.  The  course  they  are  taking  leads  only  to  fresh  delays, 
while  speedy  action  is  necessary.  If  we  hesitate,  the  devil  will 
find  time  to  sow  dissensions.  The  treaty  gives  us  a  great  deal. 
Whoever  wants  to  have  everything  runs  the  risk  of  getting 
nothing.  They  are  not  content  with  what  has  been  achieved. 
They  require  more  uniformity.  If  they  would  only  remember 
the  position  of  affairs  five  years  ago,  and  what  they  would  then 
have  been  satisfied  with!"  ...  "A  Constituent  Assembly! 
But  what  if  the  King  of  Bavaria  should  not  permit  representa- 
tives to  be  elected  to  it  ?  The  Bavarian  people  would  not 
compel  him,  nor  would  I.  It  is  easy  to  find  fault  when  one  has 
no  proper  idea  of  the  conditions  which  govern  the  situation." 

The  Minister  then  came  to  speak  on  another  subject :  "  I 
have  just  read  a  report  on  the  surj^rise  of  the  Unna  battalion. 
Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Chatillon  took  part  in  it  —  others,  it 
is  true,  hid  our  people.  It  is  a  wonder  that  they  did  not  burn 
down  the  town  in  their  first  outburst  of  anger.  Afterwards,  of 
course,  in  cold  l)lood  that  would  not  do." 


1870]  WEIGHING    LT  THE    WAR   INDEMXIIY  261 

After  a  short  j)ausc,  the  Chief  took  some  coins  out  of  his 
pocket  and  j)]aycd  with  them  for  a  moment,  remarking  at  the 
same  time  :  "  It  is  surprising  how  many  respectably  dressed 
beggars  one  meets  with  here.  There  were  some  at  Reims,  but 
it  is  much  worse  here."  ...  "  How  seldom  one  now  sees  a 
gold  piece  with  the  head  of  Louis  Philippe  or  Charles  X. !  When 
I  was  young,  between  twenty  and  thirty,  coins  of  Louis  XVL 
and  of  the  fat  Louis  XVIH.  were  still  to  be  seen.  Even  the 
expression  '  louis  d'or  '  is  no  longer  usual  with  us.  In  polite 
circles  one  speaks  of  a  friedrich  d'or."  The  Chancellor  then 
balanced  a  napoleon  on  the  tip  of  his  middle  finger,  as  if  he 
were  weighing  it,  and  continued  :  "  A  hundred  million  double 
napoleons  d'or  would  represent  about  the  amount  of  the  war 
indemnity  up  to  the  present  —  later  on  it  will  be  more,  four 
thousand  million  francs.  Forty  thousand  thalers  in  gold  would 
make  a  hundredweight,  thirty  hundredweight  would  make  a 
load  for  a  heavy  two-horse  waggon  (I  know  that  because  I  once 
had  to  convey  fourteen  thousand  thalers  in  gold  from  Berlin  to 
my  own  house.  What  a  weight  it  was  !)  —  that  would  be  about 
800  waggon  loads."  "  It  would  not  take  so  long  to  collect  the 
carts  for  that  purpose  as  it  does  for  the  ammunition  for  the 
bombardment,"  observed  some  one,  who,  like  most  of  us,  was 
losing  patience  at  the  slow  progress  of  the  preparations. 
"  Yes,"  said  the  Chief  ;  "  Roon,  however,  told  me  the  other 
day  he  had  several  hundred  carts  at  Nanteuil,  which  could  be 
used  for  the  transport  of  ammunition.  Moreover,  some  of  the 
waggons  that  are  now  drawn  by  six  horses  could  do  with  four 
for  a  time,  and  the  two  spare  horses  thus  could  be  used  for 
bringing  up  ammunition.  We  have  already  318  guns  here, 
but  they  want  forty  more,  and  Roon  says  he  could  have 
them  also  brought  up.  The  others,  however,  won't  hear  of 
it." 

Hatzfeld  afterwards  said  :  "  It  is  only  six  or  seven  weeks 
since  they  altered  their  minds.  At  Ferrieres,  while  we  were 
still  on  good  terms  with  them,  Bronsart  and  Verdy  said  we  could 
level  the  forts  of  Issy  and  Vanvres  to  the  ground  in  thirty-six 
hours,  and  then  attack  Paris  itself.  Later  on  it  was  suddenly 
found  to  be  impossible."  "  Because  of  the  letters  received  from 
London,"  exclaimed  Bismarck-Bohlen.  I  asked  what  Moltke 
thouofht  of  the  matter.      "  He  does  not  trouble  himself   about 


262  THE   "ORIENTAL   COLONY"   AT  VERSAILLES  [Dec.  2 

it!"  answered  Hat/.feld.  But  Bucher  declared  that  Moltkc 
wanted  the  bombardment  to  take  place. 

Friday^  December  2nd.  —  I  see  Neininger  in  the  morning 
and  learn  that  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  audience  from  the 
Chief  by  playing  the  informer.  He  hinted  to  a  Dr.  Schuster  of 
Geneva  that  "  there  might  possibly  be  collusion  between  the 
foreign  settlement  collected  round  headquarters,  and  the  person- 
nel oi  the  Government  of  National  Defence,"  and  also  that  there 
were  "  fresh  symptoms  of  intimate  relations  being  maintained 
across  the  German  investing  lines  with  the  Oriental  colony  at 
Versailles."  Schuster  managed  to  convey  these  hints  to  the 
Minister.  The  "Oriental  colony,"  however  (a  title  which  is 
intended  to  apply  chiefly  to  Lowensohn,  and  after  him  to  Bam- 
berger), appears  to  be  innocent,  and  the  intrigue  to  have  been 
contrived  merely  for  the  purpose  of  providing  a  better  position 
for  Neininger  on  the  Monitenr  by  securing  the  dismissal  of  the 
other  two  journalists. 

Subsequently  wrote  some  letters  and  articles  again  setting 
forth  the  Chief's  views  in  the  matter  of  the  Bavarian  Treaty, 
and  translated  for  the  King  the  leading  article  in  the  Times  on 
Gortchakoffs  reply  to  Granville's  despatch. 

Alten,  Lchndorff,  and  a  dragoon  officer,  Herr  von  Thadden, 
were  the  Chief's  guests  at  dinner. 

The  Chief  said  that  he  had  taken  measures  for  providing  our 
sentries  with  more  comfortable  quarters.  "  Up  to  the  present 
they  occupied  Madame  Jesse's  coach-house,  which  has  no  fire- 
place. That  would  not  do  any  longer,  so  I  ordered  the  gar- 
dener to  clear  out  half  of  the  greenhouse  for  them.  '  l^ut 
Madame's  plants  will  be  frozen,'  said  the  gardener's  wife.  '  A 
great  pity,'  said  I.  'I  suppose  it  would  be  better  if  the  soldiers 
froze.'  " 

The  Chief  then  referred  to  the  danger  of  the  Reichstag 
rejecting,  or  even  merely  amending,  the  treaty  with  Bavaria. 
"I  am  very  an.xious  about  it.  People  have  no  idea  what  the 
position  is.  We  are  balancing  ourselves  on  the  point  of  a  light- 
ning conductor.  If  we  lose  the  equilibrium,  which  at  much  pains 
I  have  succeeded  in  establishing,  we  fall  to  the  ground.  They 
want  more  than  can  be  obtained  without  coercion,  and  more 
than  they  would  have  been  very  pleased  to  accept  before  1866. 
If  at  that  time   they  had  got  but    half  what   they  are  getting 


iSyoJ  rRIXCK   WirniKNSTKIN  263 

today!  No;  they  must  needs  inij)rove  upon  it  and  introduce 
more  unity,  more  uniformity  ;  but  if  they  change  so  much  as  a 
comma,  fresh  negotiations  must  be  undertaken.  Where  are 
they  to  take  phice  ?  Here  in  Versailles  ?  And  if  we  cannot 
bring  them  to  a  close  before  the  ist  of  January  —  which  many 
of  the  people  in  Munich  would  be  glad  of  — then  German  unity 
is  lost,  probably  for  years,  and  the  Austrians  can  set  to  work 
again  in  Munich." 

Mushrooms  dressed  in  two  ways  were  the  first  dish  after  the 
soup.  "These  must  be  eaten  in  a  thoughtful  spirit,"  said  the 
Chief,  "as  they  are  a  present  from  some  soldiers  who  found 
them  growing  in  a  quarry  or  a  cellar.  The  cook  has  made  an 
excellent  sauce  for  them.  A  still  more  welcome  gift,  and  cer- 
tainly a  rare  one,  was  made  to  me  the  other  day  by  the  — -what 
a  shame  !  I  have  quite  forgotten.  What  regiment  was  it  sent 
me  the  roses  .-•  "  "The  46th,"  replied  Bohlen.  "Yes;  it  was 
a  bouquet  of  roses  plucked  under  fire,  probably  in  a  garden 
near  the  outposts."  "  By  the  way,  that  reminds  me  that  I  met 
a  Polish  soldier  in  the  hospital  who  cannot  read  German.  He 
would  very  much  like  to  have  a  Polish  prayer  book.  Does  any- 
body happen  to  have  something  of  that  kind  .-• "  Alten  said  no, 
but  he  could  give  him  some  Polish  newspapers.  The  Chief : 
"  That  won't  do.  He  would  not  understand  them,  and  besides 
they  stir  up  the  people  against  us.  But  perhaps  Radziwill  has 
something.  A  Polish  novel  would  do  —  Pan  Twardowski  or 
something  of  that  kind."  Alten  promised  to  see  if  he  could 
get  anything. 

Mention  was  made  of  Ducrot,  who  in  all  likelihood  com- 
manded the  French  forces  engaged  in  to-day's  sortie,  and  it 
was  suggested  he  had  good  reason  not  to  allow  himself  to  be 
made  prisoner.  "Certainly,"  said  the  Minister.  "He  will 
either  get  himself  killed  in  action,  or  if  he  has  not  courage 
enough  for  that,  which  I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe,  he  will 
make  off  in  a  balloon." 

Some  one  said  Prince  Wittgenstein  (if  I  am  not  mistaken,  a 
Russian  aide-de-camp)  would  also  be  glad  to  leave  Paris. 

Alten  added  :  "  Yes,  in  order  that  he  might  go  in  again.  I 
fancy  it  is  a  kind  of  sport  for  him." 

The  Chief :  "  That  might  be  all  very  well  for  a  person  who 
inspired  confidence.     But   I  never  trusted  him,   and  when   he 


264  STOCK   EXCHANGE   SPECULATION  [Dec.  2 

wished  to  return  to  Paris  recently,  neither  I  nor  the  general 
staff  wanted  to  let  him  through.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining 
permission  surreptitiously  through  the  good  nature  of  the  King. 
Never  mind.  Possibly  things  may  yet  be  discovered  about  him 
that  will  ruin  him  in  St.  Petersburg." 

The  subject  of  Stock  Exchange  speculation  was  again  intro- 
duced, and  the  Chief  once  more  denied  the  possibility  of  turn- 
ing to  much  account  the  always  very  limited  knowledge  which 
one  may  have  of  political  events  beforehand.  Such  events  only 
affect  the  Bourse  afterwards,  and  the  day  when  that  is  going  to 
happen  cannot  be  foreseen.  "  Of  course,  if  one  could  contrive 
things  so  as  to  produce  a  fall  —  but  that  is  dishonourable! 
Grammont  has  done  so,  according  to  what  Russell  recently 
stated.  He  doubled  his  fortune  in  that  way.  One  might  al- 
most say  that  he  brought  about  the  war  with  that'  object. 
Moustier  also  carried  on  that  sort  of  business  —  not  for  him- 
self, but  with  the  fortune  of  his  mistress  —  and  when  it  was  on 
the  point  of  being  discovered,  he  poisoned  himself.  One  might 
take  advantage  of  one's  position  in  a  rather  less  dishonest  way 
by  arranging  to  have  the  Bourse  quotations  from  all  the  Stock 
ICxchanges  sent  off  with  the  political  despatches  by  obliging 
officials  abroad.  The  political  despatches  take  precedence  of 
the  Bourse  telegrams,  so  that  one  would  gain  from  twenty  min- 
utes to  half  an  hour.  One  would  then  want  a  quick-footed  Jew 
to  secure  this  advantage.  I  know  people  who  have  done  it. 
In  that  way  one  might  earn  fifteen  hundred  to  fifteen  thousand 
thalers  daily,  and  in  a  few  years  that  makes  a  handsome  fort- 
une. But,  all  the  same,  it  remains  ugly ;  and  my  son  shall  not 
say  of  me  that  that  was  how  I  made  him  a  rich  man.  He  can 
become  rich  in  some  other  way — through  speculation  with  his 
own  property,  through  the  sale  of  timber,  by  marriage,  or  some- 
thing of  the  kind.  I  was  much  better  off  before  I  was  made 
Chancellor  than  I  am  now.  My  grants  have  ruined  me.  My 
affairs  have  been  embarrassed  ever  since.  Previously  I  regarded 
myself  as  a  simple  country  gentleman  ;  now  that  I,  to  a  certain 
extent,  belong  to  the  peerage,  my  requirements  are  increasing 
and  my  estates  bring  me  nothing.  As  Minister  at  Frankfort  I 
always  had  a  balance  to  my  credit,  and  also  in  St.  Petersburg, 
where  I  was  not  obliged  to  entertain,  and  did  not." 

In  the  afternoon  PViedlandcr  called  uj)on  me  with  an  invita- 


1870]  HOW   LUXEMBURG   OBSKRVES   NEUTRALIl  V  265 

lion,  which  I  was  obliged  to  decline.  Our  fat  friend  knew  ex- 
actly why  the  bombardment  did  not  take  place.  "  Blumenthal 
will  not  agree  to  it  because  the  Crown  Prince  does  not  want 
it,"  he  said;  "and  behind  him  are  the  two  Victorias."  So  an 
artillery  officer  told  him  a  few  days  ago. 

Adticndufn.  —  According  to  a  pencil  note  which  I  have  now 
laid  hands  on,  Bohlen  remarked  yesterday  at  dinner  that  he 
understood  many  valuable  pictures  and  manuscripts  removed 
by  the  French  from  Germany  had  not  been  returned.  Some 
one  else  observed  that  it  would  be  difftcult  to  put  this  right 
now.  "Well,"  said  the  Chief,  "we  could  take  others  of  equal 
value  in  their  stead.  We  could,  for  instance,  pack  up  the  best 
of  the  pictures  out  of  the  Gallery  here."  "Yes,  and  sell  them 
to  the  Americans,"  added  Bohlen  ;  "  they  would  give  us  a  good 
price  for  them." 

According  to  another  note  the  Chancellor  related  (doubtless 
on  the  occasion  when  Holnstein  dined  with  us) :  "  In  Crehanges 
the  Augustenburger  again  tricked  me  into  shaking  hands  with 
him.  A  Bavarian  colonel  or  general  came  over  to  me  and  held 
out  his  hand,  which  I  took.  I  could  not  put  a  name  to  the 
face,  and  when  I  had,  it  was  too  late.  If  I  could  only  come 
across  him  again,  I  would  say  to  him,  *  You  treacherously 
purloined  a  hand  from  me  at  Crehanges ;  will  you  please  re- 
store it  ? ' " 

I  afterwards  wrote  an  article  on  the  neutrality  of  Luxem- 
burg, and  the  perfidious  way  in  which  people  there  are  taking 
advantage  of  it  to  help  the  French  in  every  sort  of  way.  It  ran 
as  follows: — We  declared  at  the  commencement  of  the  war 
that  we  would  respect  the  neutrality  of  the  Grand  Duchy,  the 
neutrality  of  its  government  and  people  being  thereby  assumed. 
That  condition,  however,  has  not  been  fulfilled,  the  Luxem- 
burgers  having  been  guilty  of  flagrant  breaches  of  neutrality, 
although  we  on  our  part  have  kept  our  promise  in  spite  of  the 
inconvenience  to  which  we  have  often  been  put,  especially  in 
connection  with  the  transport  of  our  wounded.  We  have  already 
had  occasion  to  complain  of  the  fortress  of  Thionville  having 
been  provisioned  by  trains  despatched  at  night  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  railway  officials  and  police  authorities  of  the  Grand 
Duchy.  After  the  capitulation  of  Metz  numbers  of  French 
soldiers  passed  through  Luxemburg  with  the  object  of  return- 


266  "WE   SHALL   SPEND   CHRLSTMAS   HERE"  [Dec.  4 

ing  to  France  and  rejoining  the  French  army.  The  French 
Vice-Consul  opened  a  regular  office  at  the  Luxemburg  railway 
station,  where  soldiers  were  provided  with  money  and  passports 
for  their  journey.  The  Grand  Ducal  Government  permitted  all 
this  to  go  on  without  making  any  attempt  to  prevent  it.  They 
cannot,  therefore,  complain  if  in  future  military  operations  we 
pay  no  regard  to  the  neutrality  of  the  country,  of  if  we  demand 
compensation  for  the  injury  done  by  breaches  of  neutrality  due 
to  such  culpable  negligence. 

Sunday,  Dccfjtibcr  ^t/i.  —  We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  Rog- 
genbach,  a  former  Baden  Minister,  and  von  Niethammer,  a 
member  of  the  Bavarian  Ambulance  Corps,  whose  acquaintance 
the  Chief  made  recently  in  the  hospital. 

The  Chief  spoke  at  first  of  having  again  visited  the  wounded, 
and  afterwards  added:  —  "Leaving  Frankfort  and  St.  Peters- 
burg out  of  account,  I  have  now  been  longer  here  than  in  any 
other  foreign  town  during  my  whole  life.  We  shall  spend 
Chri.stmas  here,  which  we  had  not  expected  to  do,  and  we  may 
remain  at  Versailles  till  Easter  and  see  the  trees  grow  green 
again,  whilst  we  wait  for  news  of  the  Loire  army.  Had  we 
only  known  we  might  have  planted  asparagus  in  the  garden 
here." 

The  Minister  afterwards  said,  addressing  Roggenbach :  — 
"I  have  just  looked  through  the  newspaper  extracts.  How 
they  do  abuse  the  treaties !  They  simply  tear  them  into  shreds. 
The  Natio7ial  Zcitmij^,  the  Koelnisc/w,  —  the  Wcser  Zcifiuiq-  is 
still  the  most  reasonable,  as  it  always  is.  Of  course  one  must 
put  u])  with  criticism  ;  but  then  one  is  responsible  if  the  negotia- 
tions come  to  nothing,  while  the  critics  have  no  responsibility. 
I  am  indifferent  as  to  their  censure  so  long  as  the  thing  gets 
through  the  Reichstag.  History  may  say  that  the  wretched 
Chancellor  ought  to  have  done  better ;  but  I  was  rcsj^onsible. 
If  the  Reichstag  introduces  amendments  every  German  Diet 
can  do  the  same,  and  then  the  thing  will  drag  on  and  we  shall 
not  be  able  to  secure  the  peace  we  desire  and  need.  We  can- 
not demand  the  cession  of  Alsace  if  no  political  entity  is 
created,  if  there  is  no  Germany  to  cede  it  to." 

The  question  of  the  peace  negotiations  to  follow  on  the 
approaching  capitulation  of  Paris  was  then  discussed,  and  the 
difficulties  which  might  arise.     The  Chief  said: — "  Favrc  and 


iSyoJ  MAUDLIN   SICN  TIMKN  TAI.l  TY  267 

Trochu  may  say,  '  Wc  arc  not  the  Government.  We  were  j)art 
of  it  at  one  time,  but  now  that  wc  have  surrendered  we  arc 
private  persons.  I  am  nothing  more  than  Citizen  Trochu.'  But 
at  that  point  I  should  try  a  little  coercion  on  the  Parisians.  I 
should  say  to  them  :  '  I  hold  you,  two  million  people,  responsi- 
ble in  your  own  persons.  I  shall  let  you  starve  for  twenty-four 
hours  unless  you  agree  to  our  demands.'  Yes,  and  yet  another 
four-and-twenty  hours,  come  what  might  of  it. 

"I  would  stick  to  my  point  —  but  the  King,  the  Crown 
I'rince,  the  women  who  force  their  sentimental  views  upon 
them,  and  certain  secret  European  connections  —  I  can  deal 
with  those  in  front  of  me  —  but  those  who  stand  behind  me, 
behind  my  back,  or  rather  who  weigh  upon  me  so  that  I  can- 
not breathe !  —  people  for  whom  the  German  cause  and  Ger- 
man victories  are  not  the  main  question,  but,  rather,  their 
anxiety  to  be  praised  in  English  newspapers.  Ah,  if  one  were 
but  the  Landgrave !  —  I  could  trust  myself  to  be  hard  enough. 
But,  unfortunately,  one  is  not  the  Landgrave.^  Quite  recently, 
in  their  maudlin  solicitude  for  the  Parisians,  they  have  again 
brought  forward  a  thoroughly  foolish  scheme.  Great  stores 
of  provisions  from  London  and  Belgium  are  to  be  collected  for 
the  Parisians.  The  storehouses  are  to  be  within  our  lines,  and 
our  soldiers  are  merely  to  look  at  them,  but  not  to  touch  them, 
however  much  they  may  themselves  suffer  from  scarcity  and 
hunger.  These  supplies  are  to  prevent  the  Parisians  starving 
when  they  shall  have  capitulated.  We,  in  this  house,  it  is  true, 
have  enough,  but  the  troops  are  on  short  commons  ;  yet  they 
must  suffer  in  order  that  the  Parisians,  when  they  learn  that 
supplies  have  been  collected  for  them,  may  postpone  their 
capitulation  till  they  have  eaten  their  last  loaf  and  slaughtered 
their  last  horse.  I  shall  not  be  consulted,  otherwise  I'd  rather 
be  hanged  than  consent  to  it.  But  I  am,  nevertheless,  respon- 
sible. I  was  imprudent  enough  to  call  attention  to  the  famine 
that  must  ensue.  It  is  true  I  mentioned  it  merely  to  the  diplo- 
matists. But  they  have  thus  become  aware  of  the  fact.  Other- 
wise it  would  not  have  occurred  to  them." 

Swiss  cheese  having  been  handed  round,  some  one  raised 
the    question   whether   cheese   and   wine   went   well  together. 

^A  reference  to  the  popular  Thuringian  ballad  of  "The  Landgrave  and  the 
Smith." 


268  THE   GORTCHAKOFF   NOTE  [Dec.  4 

"  Some  descriptions  with  certain  wines,"  was  the  Minister's 
decision.  "  Not  strong  ones  like  Gorgonzola  and  Dutch  cheese, 
but  others  are  all  right.  I  remember  that  at  the  time  when 
people  drank  hard  in  Pomcrania  —  two  hundred  years  ago  or 
more — the  good  folks  of  Rammin  were  the  greatest  topers 
in  the  country.  One  of  them  happened  to  get  a  supply  of 
wine  from  Stettin,  which  was  not  quite  to  his  liking.  He  com- 
plained accordingly  to  the  merchant,  who  replied  :  '  Eet  kccs  to 
Wicn,  Hcrr,  von  Rammin,  dcnn  smcckt  dc  Wicn  wie  in  Stettin 
00k  to  Ramminy  (Low  German:  "Eat  cheese  to  your  wine, 
good  sir,  from  Rammin,  then  the  wine  will  taste  as  good  in 
Rammin  as  it  does  here  in  Stettin.") 

Abeken,  who  had  been  with  the  King,  came  in  afterwards, 
and  reported  that  his  Majesty  considered  it  would  be  well  to 
write  again  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  give  him  the  views 
held  here  respecting  the  Gortchakoff  Note.  The  Chief  said : 
"  I  think  not.  Enough  has  been  already  written  and  tele- 
graphed on  the  subject.  They  know  in  St.  Petersburg  what 
we  think.  At  least  we  must  not  write  discourteously,  but 
rather  in  a  friendly  and  amiable  spirit.  It  is  better,  however, 
to  say  nothing.  If  it  were  England!  But  we  shall  still  want 
Russia's  good  will  in  the  immediate  future.  When  that  is  no 
longer  necessary,  we  can  afford  to  be  rude." 

Bohlen  said :  "  They  are  quite  beside  themselves  in  Berlin. 
They  will  have  tremendous  rejoicings  there  to-morrow,  about 
the  I'Imperor.  They  are  going  to  illuminate  the  town,  and  are 
making  immense  preparations  —  a  regular  scene  from  fairy- 
land!" "I  fancy  that  will  have  a  good  effect  on  the  Reichs- 
tag," observed  the  Chief.  "  It  was  really  very  nice  of  Rog- 
genbach  to  start  off  at  once  for  Berlin  "  (in  order  to  urge  mod- 
eration upon  the  grumblers  in  the  Reichstag).  "  They  "  (the 
members  of  Parliament,  or  the  Berliners.-')  "attach  much  more 
importance  to  the  title  of  ICmi:)eror  than  the  thing  really  de- 
serves—  although   I   do  not  mean  to  say  it  is  of  no  value." 

"That  was  really  funny,"  said  liohlen,  "what  Holnstein 
told  us  about  his  interview  with  the  King  of  liavaria  while  he 
had  a  toothache!  " 

"And  the  way  I  wrote  to  him  in  order  to  bring  him  round," 
arklcd  the  Chancellor.  "  I  knew  that  he  could  not  bear  me, 
and   did   not  trust  me.      So  I  wrote  to   him   at  last  that  one  of 


1S70J  A  Li-rriER  TO  'iHi:  king  of  i;avaria  269 

our  estates  had  been  granted  to  our  family  by  Ludwig,  the 
Bavarian,  as  Lord  of  Brandenburg,  and  that  consequently  we 
had  had  relations  with  his  house  for  more  than  five  centuries. 
That  was  true,  in  so  far  as  the  estates  which  we  now  hold  were 
given  to  us  in  exchange  for  those  which  the  Hohenzollerns 
extorted  from  us.  Holnstein  said  the  letter  must  have  pleased 
the  King  very  much,  as  he  asked  to  read  it  again.  "  It  was 
Holnstein  who  did  most  in  this  matter.  He  played  his  part 
very  cleverly.  Tell  me  (to  Bohlen),  what  Order  can  we  give 
him .? " 

Bohlen:  "He  got  the  first  class  of  the  red  fowl  (the  Red 
Eagle)  when  the  Crown  Prince  was  in  Munich." 

"  Well  then,"  said  the  Chief,  "  he  has  got  the  highest  deco- 
ration that  can  be  given  to  him." 

Bohlen:  "Well,  the  King  might  give  him  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Order,  about  which  Stillfried  is  already  meditating,  or  he 
can  found  a  new  Prussian  Order,  and  thus  supply  a  long-felt 
want." 

The  Chief:  "The  Green  Lion." 

Bohlen :  "  The  German  Order,  with  a  black,  white,  and  red 
ribbon." 

The  Chief:  "Or  with  the  colours  of  the  German  Knights, 
a  white  ribbon  with  small  black  stripes.  It  looks  very  well. 
The  King  did  not  rightly  know  what  it  was  all  about  when 
Holnstein  requested  an  audience.  He  said  to  me,  '  I  observed 
to  Holnstein,  that  I  supposed  he  wished  to  see  Versailles.'  Of 
course,  he  (King  William)  could  not  have  arranged  that  him- 
self "  {i.e.,  he  could  not  have  arranged  to  acquire  the  Impe- 
rial dignity  through  the  good  offices  of  Bavaria). 

Werthern,  our  Minister  at  Munich,  seems  to  have  reported 
that  it  was  intended  there  to  commission  Prince  Luitpold  with 
the  proclamation  of  the  Emperor.  The  Chancellor  observed: 
"  A  singular  idea !  Another  example  of  the  way  in  which  Bray 
treats  matters  of  business.  How  is  he  to  do  it.-*  Step  on  to  a 
balcony,  and  proclaim  it !  —  to  whom  ?  That  might  do  if  all  the 
Princes  were  here  —  but  with  the  three  or  four  now  present! 
I  had  hoped  that  we  should  have  made  peace  before  German 
unity  was  secured." 

Bohlen:  "How  pleased  the  King  will  feel  at  being  made 
Emperor!   and  still  more  so,  the  Crown  Prince!  " 


270  THE   CiERMAN   TREATIES  [Dix.  5 

The  Chief:  "Yes,  and  no  doubt  he  is  already  thinking 
about  the  cut  of  the  Imperial  robes." 

Monday,  Dcccnibcr  $t/i. — The  Chief  sent  for  me,  and  gave 
me  his  instructions  for  a  dementi  with  regard  to  the  Bavarian 
Treaty,  in  which  his  ideas  were  to  be  somewhat  differently 
expressed.  It  was  to  the  following  effect.  The  rumour  that 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  only  concluded  the  treaties 
with  the  South  German  States  in  anticipation  that  they  would 
be  rejected,  or  at  least  amended  in  the  Reichstag,  is  entirely 
without  foundation.  The  debate  on  the  treaties  must  be 
brought  to  a  close  during  the  month  of  December,  and  they 
must  be  adopted  in  their  entirety,  in  order  that  they  may  come 
into  force  on  the  ist  of  January.  Otherwise,  everything  will 
remain  uncertain.  If  the  representatives  of  North  Germany 
alter  the  treaties,  the  South  German  Diets  will  be  entitled  to 
make  further  amendments  in  a  contrary  sense,  and  there  is  no 
knowing  how  far  that  right  might  not  be  exercised.  In  such 
circumstances,  the  nation  might  have  still  to  wait  a  long  time 
for  its  political  unity.  ("  Perhaps  ten  years,"  said  the  Chief, 
"and  interim  illiquid  fit  y)  In  that  case,  also,  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  might  not  be  what  we  desire.  The  treaties  may  be 
deficient,  but  they  can  always  be  gradually  improved  by  the 
Reichstag,  in  cooperation  with  the  Bundesrath,  and  through 
the  pressure  of  public  opinion  and  national  sentiment.  There 
is  no  hurry  about  that.  If  public  opinion  brings  no  pressure 
to  bear  in  that  direction,  it  is  obvious  that  the  present  arrange- 
ment meets  the  views  of  the  majority  of  the  nation.  Men  of 
national  sentiment  at  Versailles  are  very  anxious  and  uneasy 
at  the  prevailing  dispositions  in  Berlin.  They  are,  however, 
to  some  extent  reassured  by  the  fact  that  the  Volkszeitung 
opposes  the  Bavarian  Treaty,  as  people  have  gradually  grown 
accustomed  to  find  that  all  persons  of  political  insight  as  a  rule 
reject  whatever  that  journal  praises  and  recommends,  and  are 
disposed  to  adopt  whatever  it  deprecates  and  censures. 

At  dinner  Bamberger,  the  member  of  the  Reichstag,  was 
on  the  Chief's  left.  He  is  also  going  to  Berlin  in  order  to  plead 
for  the  adoption,  without  alteration,  of  the  treaties  with  South 
Gcrmanv-  The  conversation  first  turned  on  doctors  and  their 
kntnvlcdgc,  whereupon  the  Chief  (I  cannot  now  remember  on 
what  grounds)  delivered  the  following  weighty  judgment:   "Ah 


iSjoJ  TIIK    Ri;.Sro.\.SIIilLlTV    OF    I'AKIJAMLNTS  271 

yes,  if  doctors  wore  only  sensible  men  ;  but  as  it  is,  they  arc 
dolts."  The  (lueslion  of  the  treaties  was  then  discussed,  and 
the  attitude  of  the  Princes  in  this  matter  was  admitted  to  be 
correct.  "Yes,  but  the  Reichstag,"  said  the  Chancellor;  "it 
reminds  me  of  Kaiser  lleinrich  and  his  'Gentlemen,  you  have 
spoiled  my  sport.'  ^  In  that  instance  it  ultimately  turned  out  all 
rii;ht,  but  in  this !  All  the  members  of  the  Reichstag  might 
sacrifice  themselves  one  after  another  upon  the  altar  of  the 
l'\itherland  —  it  would  be  all  to  no  purpose."  After  reflecting 
for  a  moment,  the  Minister  continued,  with  a  smile:  "Members 
of  the  Diet  and  the  Reichstag  should  be  made  responsible,  like 
Ministers,  no  more  and  no  less,  and  placed  on  a  footing  of 
absolute  equality.  A  Bill  should  provide  for  the  impeachment 
for  treason  of  members  of  Parliament  when  they  reject  important 
State  treaties,  or,  as  in  Paris,  approve  of  a  war  undertaken  on 
frivolous  pretexts.  They  were  all  in  favour  of  the  war,  with  the 
exception  of  Jules  Favre.  Perhaps  I  shall  bring  in  some  such 
measure  one  day." 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  the  approaching  capitu- 
lation of  Paris,  which  must  take  place,  at  latest,  within  a  month. 
"  Ah  !  "  sighed  the  Chancellor,  "  it  is  then  that  my  troubles  wdll 
begin  in  earnest."  .  .  .  Bamberger  was  of  opinion  that  they 
should  not  be  allowed  merely  to  capitulate,  but  should  immedi- 
ately be  called  upon  to  conclude  peace.  "  Quite  so,"  said  the 
Chief.  "  That  is  exactly  my  view,  and  they  should  be  forced  to 
do  so  by  starvation.  But  there  are  people  who  want,  above  all 
else,  to  be  extolled  for  their  humane  feelings,  and  they  will 
spoil  everything  —  altogether  forgetting  the  fact  that  we  must 
think  of  our  own  soldiers,  and  take  care  that  they  shall  not 
suffer  want  and  be  shot  down  to  no  purpose.  It  is  just  the 
same  with  the  bombardment.  And  then  we  are  told  to  spare 
people  who  are  searching  for  potatoes ;  they  should  be  shot 
too,  if  we  want  to  reduce  the  city  by  starvation." 

After  8  o'clock  I  was  called  to  the  Chief  several  times,  and 
w^-ote  two  paragraphs  for  the  SpcnerscJie  Zeitting  in  accordance 
with  his  instructions.  The  first  ran  as  follows: — "The  Vienna 
newspapers  recently  stated  that  'the  German  Austrians  did  not 
wish  for  war,  and  the  majority  of  the  Austrian  Slavs  just  as 

1  His  greeting  to  those  who  brought  him  the  news  of  his  election  as  Emperor 
while  he  was  netting  birds  in  the  forest. 


2/2  THE  DECAY   OF   AUSTRIA  [Dkc.  5 

little.'  But  there  is  in  Austria,  and  in  Hungary,  a  not  very 
numerous  but  influential  party  which  does  desire  war.  When 
inquiry  is  made  as  to  their  real  motive  for  doing  so,  it  is  found 
to  arise  from  pride  and  arrogance,  from  a  kind  of  frivolous 
chivalry,  from  a  real  hunger  for  political  luxuries,  from  the 
determination  to  play  the  Grand  Seigneur  before  the  world. 
The  Austrians  of  this  party,  in  which  very  distinguished  person- 
ages are  the  moving  spirits,  seem  to  us  to  resemble  the  princely 
family  of  Esterhazy.  It  is  an  ancient  house,  of  high  rank,  with 
great  estates  and  a  large  fortune.  Its  members  might  well 
have  been  content  to  occupy  so  eminent  a  position.  But  the 
evil  genius  of  the  family  continually  drove  them  into  extrava- 
gance, into  making  too  great  demands  upon  their  resources, 
into  squandering  enormous  sums  on  horses,  diamonds,  &c.,  with 
the  object  of  displaying  their  wealth  and  importance;  so  that 
they  fell  into  debt,  and,  finally,  came  to  the  verge  of  bank- 
ruptcy. The  Esterhazy  Lottery  was  then  resorted  to,  and 
actually  did  tide  them  over  their  difficulties.  The  family  was 
saved.  But  scarcely  have  they  begun  to  breathe  freely,  and  to 
regain  their  footing,  when  their  evil  genius  once  more  inspires 
them,  and  the  old  game  goes  on  again,  until,  at  length,  a  time 
will  come  when  even  a  lottery  will  no  longer  save  them.  The 
Austrian  party  to  which  we  have  already  referred  seems  to  us 
to  present  a  close  resemblance  to  the  Esterhazys.  The  State  is 
a  fine  property,  with  excellent  natural  advantages,  a  rich  soil, 
and  a  great  variety  of  valuable  resources.  But  the  policy  of 
the  proprietors  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  the  Esterhazys. 
They  must  always  overreach  themselves,  and  try  to  be  more 
than  they  really  are.  The  evil  genius  of  the  State  regards  as  a 
necessity  what  is  in  reality  mere  luxury,  self-conceit,  and  the 
desire  to  cut  a  great  figure  in  the  world.  In  that  way,  the 
ancient  and  wealthy  house  has  become  a  comparatively  poor 
one,  with  a  touch  of  the  Quixotic,  and  a  still  stronger  flavour  of 
unfair  dealing,  which  is  very  badly  suited  to  our  matter-of-fact 
age,  when  so  much  importance  is  attached  to  the  ability  to  pay 
one's  way.  I'^very  now  and  then,  the  State,  like  its  ]H-ototyi)C 
the  Esterhazys,  escapes  out  of  its  troubles  by  means  of  a  lot- 
tery, or  of  some  not  particularly  respectable  financial  manamvre; 
but  then  it  suddenly  puts  forward  fresh  claims  to  a  )X)sition 
beyond  its  means,  pres'imes  to  jilay  the  part  of  a  great   Power, 


1S70J  '11  IK    llAl'SliURGS    AM)    TilK   ORLEANS  273 

squanders  millions  on  mobilisation,  as  its  prototype  does  on 
stables  and  diamonds,  and  thus  sinks  deeper  and  deeper  into 
financial  difficulties.  Instead  of  being  able  to  satisfy  its  cred- 
itors by  good  management  and  a  modest  bearing,  it  moves 
steadily  forward,  without  pause  or  rest,  towards  that  bank- 
ruptcy which  for  a  considerable  space  has  only  been  a  ques- 
tion of  time." 

The  foregoing  is  an  almost  literal  reproduction  of  the  Chief's 
own  words.  I  did  not  venture,  however,  to  incorporate  his  con- 
cluding remarks,  which  were  as  follows:  "The  Hapsburgs  have 
really  become  great  through  plundering  old  families  —  the  Hun- 
garians, for  instance.  At  bottom  they  arc  only  a  family  of 
police  spies  {polizcilicJi-Spitzelfamilie)  who  lived  upon  and  made 
their  fortune  by  confiscations." 

The  second  paragraph,  which  referred  to  a  statement  in  the 
Indcpcndance  Beige,  pointed  out  that  the  relationship  between 
the  Orleans  and  the  House  of  Hapsburg-Lorraine  through  the 
Due  d'Alengon  could  not  induce  us  Germans  to  regard  them 
with  any  special  favour.  The  paragraph  was  to  the  following 
effect :  It  is  known  that  Trochu  declined  the  offer  of  the 
Princes  of  the  House  of  Orleans  to  take  part  in  the  struggle 
against  us.  The  Independance  Beige  now  states  that  the  Due 
d'Alen^on,  second  son  of  the  Due  de  Nemours,  who  was  at 
that  time  incapacitated  by  illness  from  joining  his  uncles  and 
cousins  in  their  offer  of  service,  has  now  sought  salvation  by 
adopting  a  similar  course.  The  Brussels  organ  adds  the  signifi- 
cant remark :  "  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Due  d'Alen^on 
is  married  to  a  sister  of  the  Empress  of  Austria."  We  under- 
stand that  hint,  and  believe  we  shall  be  speaking  in  the  spirit 
of  German  policy  in  replying  to  it  as  follows :  —  The  Orleans 
are  quite  as  hostile  to  us  as  the  other  dynasties  that  are  fishing 
for  the  French  throne.  Their  journals  are  filled  with  lies  and 
abuse  directed  against  us.  We  have  not  forgotten  the  hymn 
of  praise  which  the  Due  de  Joinville  raised  after  the  battle  of 
Worth  to  the  franctireurs,  who  had  acted  like  assassins.  The 
only  French  Government  we  care  for  is  that  which  can  do  us 
the  least  harm,  because  it  is  most  occupied  with  its  own  affairs, 
and  with  maintaining  its  own  position  against  its  rivals.  Other- 
wise Orleanists,  Legitimists,  Imperialists,  and  Republicans  are 
all  of  the  same  value  or  no  value  to  us.     And  as  for  those  who 


274  -A.  DULL  EVENING  WITH  THE  KING  [Dec.  5 

throw  out  hints  about  the  Austrian  relationship,  they  would 
do  well  to  be  on  their  guard,  as  we  are  on  ours.  There  is  in 
Austria-Hungary  one  party  in  favour  of  Germany  and  another 
hostile  to  her,  —  a  party  that  wants  to  continue  the  policy  of 
Kaunitz  in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  a  policy  of  constant  conspir-- 
acy  with  France  against  German  interests,  and  particularly 
against  Prussia.  That  is  the  policy  which  has  recently  been 
connected  with  Metternich's  name,  and  which  was  pursued 
from  181 5  to  1866.  Since  then  more  or  less  vigorous  attempts 
have  been  made  to  continue  it.  It  is  the  party  of  which  the 
younger  Mettcrnich  is  regarded  as  the  leader.  He  has  for 
years  past  been  looked  upon  as  the  most  ardent  advocate  of 
a  Franco-Austrian  alliance  against  Germany,  and  one  of  the 
principal  instigators  of  the  present  war.  If  the  Orleans  believe 
that  their  prospects  are  improved  by  their  connection  with  Aus- 
tria, they  ought  also  to  know  that  for  that  very  reason  they  have 
nothing  to  hope  from  us. 

After  Bucher,  Keudell,  and  myself  had  been  for  some  time 
at  tea,  we  were  joined  by  the  Chief,  and  afterwards  by  Hatz- 
feld,  who  had  been  with  the  King.  He  said  it  was  intolerably 
dull  there. 

"Grimm,  the  Russian  Councillor  of  State,  gave  us  a  variety 
of  wearisome  particulars  about  Louis  Ouatorze  and  Louis 
Quinzc.  The  W.  worried  us,  and  me  in  particular,  with  silly 
questions."  (He  pouted  his  lips,  assumed  a  killing  smile,  and 
bent  his  head  to  one  side,  imitating  the  Grand  Duke's  affecta- 
tions.) "He  informed  us  that  the  students  at  St.  Cyr  all  re- 
ceived a  portrait  of  Madame  Maintenon,  and  that  he  himself 
had  one  also.  The  King,  who  had  occasionally  rubbed  his  eyes, 
observed  somewhat  pointedly,  '  I  suppose  they  were  photo- 
graphs.' 'No,  oh  no,  engravings.'  'Well,  then,  what  did  you 
do  with  yours.?'  the  King  asked.  'Why,  nothing,  I  kept  it.' 
The  Grand  Duke  then  asked  me  —  he  had  obviously  prepared 
the  question  in  advance,  and  perhaps  learnt  it  by  heart  —  'Is 
the  Revue  dcs  Ihux  Maudes  still  published  .''  An  interesting 
newspaper.'  I  replied,  '  I  do  not  know,  your  Royal  Highness.' 
'  Who  is  the  editor  .'' '  'I  do  not  know  that  either.'  '  So-o-o  ! ' 
The  aides-de-camp  were  cruelly  bored,  and  one  of  them  nudged 
Lchndorff,  begging  him  in  a  whisper  to  give  the  old  fool  a  rap 
on  the  head  with  his  crutch. 


1870J  ALKXANDER   VON   HUMBOLDT  275 

"Yes,  he  is  a  fearful  bore,"  added  the  Chief.  "What  a 
miserable  position  it  must  be  for  a  man  whose  father  was  a 
Court  official  to  him  or  one  like  him,  and  who  has  to  assume  the 
same  office  himself  —  a  chamberlain  or  something  of  that  kind, 
who  has  to  listen  day  after  day  to  all  that  twaddle,  and  has  no 
prospect  of  ever  becoming  anything  else!  The  Queen  is  just 
such  another.  She  was  educated  in  the  same  school.  I  remem- 
ber she  once  questioned  me  on  a  literary  subject,  I  believe  it 
was  about  some  French  book  or  other.  '  I  do  not  know,  your 
Majesty,'  I  replied.  'Ah,  I  suppose  that  does  not  interest  you.' 
'  No,  your  Majesty.'  Radowitz  was  very  strong  on  those  sub- 
jects. Ho  boldly  gave  every  kind  of  information,  and  in  that 
way  secured  a  great  deal  of  his  success  at  Court.  He  was  able 
to  tell  exactly  what  Maintenon  or  Pompadour  wore  on  such  and 
such  a  day ;  such  and  such  a  gewgaw  on  her  neck,  her  head- 
dress trimmed  with  colibris  or  grapes,  her  gown  pearl-grey  or 
peacock-green  with  furbelows  or  lace  of  this  or  that  description 
— -exactly  as  if  he  had  been  there  at  the  time.  The  ladies  were 
all  ears  for  these  toilette  lectures,  which  he  poured  forth  with 
the  utmost  fluency." 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  Alexander  von  Hum- 
boldt, who  appears  to  have  been  a  courtier  too,  but  not  of  the 
amusing  variety.  The  Chief  said:  "Under  the  late  King  I 
was  the  sole  victim  when  Humboldt  chose  to  entertain  the  com- 
pany in  his  own  style.  He  usually  read,  often  for  hours  at  a 
time,  the  biography  of  some  French  savant  or  architect  in  whom 
nobody  in  the  world  except  himself  took  the  slightest  interest. 
He  stood  by  the  lamp  holding  the  paper  close  to  the  light,  and 
occasionally  paused  for  the  purpose  of  making  some  learned 
observation.  Although  nobody  listened  to  him,  he  had  the  ear 
of  the  house.  The  Queen  was  all  the  time  at  work  on  a  piece 
of  tapestry,  and  certainly  did  not  understand  a  word  of  what  he 
said.  The  King  looked  through  his  portfolios  of  engravings, 
turning  them  over  as  noisily  as  possible,  evidently  with  the 
intention  of  not  hearing  him.  The  young  people  on  both  sides 
and  in  the  background  enjoyed  themselves  without  the  least 
restraint,  so  that  their  cackling  and  giggling  actually  drowned 
his  reading,  which,  however,  rippled  on  without  break  or  stop 
like  a  brook.  Gerlach,  who  was  usually  present,  sat  on  his 
small  round  chair,  which  could  barely  accommodate  his  volumi- 


2/6  "ON   THK   PEAK   OF   POPOCATAPLTL"  [Dec.  5 

nous  person,  and  slept  so  soundly  that  he  snored.  The  King 
was  once  obliged  to  wake  him,  and  said,  '  Pray,  Gerlach,  don't 
snore  so  loud  ! '  I  was  Humboldt's  only  patient  listener,  that  is  to 
say  I  sat  silent  and  pretended  to  listen,  at  the  same  time  follow- 
ing my  own  thoughts,  until  at  length  cold  cake  and  white  wine 
were  served.  It  put  the  old  gentleman  in  very  bad  humour  not 
to  be  allowed  to  have  the  talk  all  to  himself.  I  remember  once 
there  was  somebody  there  who  managed  to  monopolise  the 
conversation  —  quite  naturally,  it  is  true,  as  he  was  a  clever 
raconteur  and  spoke  about  things  that  interested  everybody. 
Humboldt  was  beside  himself.  In  a  peevish  surly  temper  he 
piled  his  plate  so  high  (pointing  with  his  hand)  \\\\h  pai(^  dc  foic 
gras,  fat  eels,  lobsters'  tails,  and  other  indigestible  stuff, — a 
real  mountain,  —  it  was  astounding  that  an  old  man  could  put  it 
all  away.  At  last  his  patience  was  exhausted,  and  he  could  not 
stand  it  any  longer.  So  he  tried  to  interrupt  the  speaker.  'On 
the  peak  of  Popocatapetl,'  he  began, — but  the  other  went  on 
with  his  story.  '  On  the  peak  of  Popocatapetl,  seven  thousand 
fathoms  above  '  —  but  he  again  failed  to  make  any  impression, 
and  the  narrative  maintained  its  easy  flow.  '  On  the  peak  of 
Popocatapetl,  seven  thousand  fathoms  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,'  he  exclaimed  in  a  loud  and  excited  tone,  —  but  with  as  lit- 
tle success  as  before.  The  talker  talked  on,  and  the  company 
had  no  ears  for  anybody  else.  That  was  something  unheard  of, 
outrageous !  Humboldt  threw  himself  back  in  morose  medita- 
tion over  the  ingratitude  of  mankind,  and  shortly  afterwards 
left.  The  Liberals  made  a  great  deal  of  him,  and  counted  him 
as  one  of  themselves.  He  was,  however,  a  sycophant  who 
aspired  to  the  favour  of  Princes  and  who  was  only  happy  when 
basking  in  the  sunshine  of  royalty.  That  did  not  prevent  him, 
however,  from  criticising  the  Court  afterwards  to  Varnhagen, 
and  repeating  all  sorts  of  discreditable  stories  about  it.  Varn- 
hagen worked  these  up  into  books,  which  I  also  bought.  They 
are  fearfully  dear  when  one  thinks  how  few  lines  in  large  type 
go  to  the  page."  Keudell  observed  that  they  were  nevertheless 
indispensable  for  historical  jniri)oses.  "  Yes,  in  a  certain  sense," 
replied  the  Chief.  "  Taken  individually  the  stories  arc  not  worth 
much,  but  as  a  whole  they  are  an  expression  of  the  sourness  of 
l^crlin  at  a  period  when  nothing  of  importance  was  happening. 
At  that  time  everybody  talked  in  that  maliciously  impotent  way. 


isjo]  MKrrEKXicii  277 

It  was  a  society  which  it  would  be  hardly  possible  to  realise  to- 
day without  the  assistance  of  such  books,  unless  one  had  per- 
sonal experience  of  it.  A  great  deal  of  outward  show  with 
nothing  genuine  behind  it.  I  remember,  although  I  was  a  very 
little  fellow  at  the  time,  it  must  have  been  in  1821  or  '22.  Min- 
isters were  still  like  strange  animals,  regarded  with  wonder  as 
something  mysterious.  There  was  once  a  large  party,  which 
was  at  that  time  called  an  asscmbl^e,  given  at  Schuckmann's  — 
what  a  monstrous  huge  beast  he  was  as  a  Minister !  My  mother 
also  went  there.  I  remember  it  as  if  it  were  to-day.  She  wore 
long  gloves  that  went  up  to  here."  (He  pointed  to  the  upper 
part  of  his  arm.)  "A  dress  with  a  short  waist,  her  hair  puffed 
out  on  both  sides,  and  a  big  ostrich  feather  on  her  head."  (The 
Chief  left  this  anecdote  unfinished,  if  indeed  there  was  any  con- 
clusion to  it,  and  returned  to  his  former  subject.)  "Humboldt, 
however,"  he  continued,  "  had  a  great  many  interesting  things 
to  tell  when  one  was  alone  with  him,  about  the  times  of  Fred- 
erick William  HI.,  and  in  particular  about  his  own  first  sojourn  in 
Paris.  As  he  liked  me,  owing  to  the  attention  with  which  I 
listened  to  him,  he  told  me  a  number  of  pretty  anecdotes.  It 
was  the  same  with  old  Metternich,  with  whom  I  spent  a  few 
days  at  Johannisburg.  Thun  afterwards  said  to  me,  '  I  do  not 
know  how  you  have  managed  to  get  round  the  old  Prince,  but 
he  has  indeed  looked  into  you  as  if  you  were  a  golden  goblet, 
as  he  told  me.  If  you  do  not  come  to  an  understanding  with 
him,  then  I  really  don't  know  what  to  say.'  '  I  can  explain  that 
to  you,'  I  replied.  '  I  listened  to  all  his  stories,  and  often 
prompted  him  to  continue  them.  That  pleases  the  garrulous 
old  people.'  " 

Hatzfeld  said  that  Moltke  had  written  to  Trochu  telling  him 
how  affairs  stood  at  Orleans,  and  expressing  his  readiness  to 
allow  one  of  Trochu's  ofificcrs  to  satisfy  himself  of  the  truth  of 
his  statement.  He  would  be  furnished  with  a  safe  conduct  to 
Orleans.  The  Chief  said  :  "  I  know  that.  But  he  should  not 
have  done  so.  They  ought  to  find  that  out  for  themselves. 
Our  lines  are  now  thin  at  various  points,  and  they  have  also  a 
pigeon  post.  They  will  only  imagine  we  are  in  a  hurry  to  get 
them  to  capitulate." 

l^iicsday,  Dcccuiber  6th.  —  In  the  morning  I  telegraphed  to 
Berlin  and  London  more  detailed  particulars  of  the  victory  at 


278  GRAMMONT'S  "BRAZEN   IMPUDENCE"  [Dec.  6,  1870 

Orleans.  Then  wrote  articles  for  the  Monitetir  and  the  German 
papers  on  the  way  in  which  French  officers  interned  in  Ger- 
many are  breaking  their  parole.  So  long  as  this  unworthy  con- 
duct receives  approval  and  encouragement  from  the  Government 
of  National  Defence,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  carry  on  any 
negotiations  with  it. 

Dr.  Lauer  and  Odo  Russell  dined  with  us  to-day.  The  con- 
versation was  not  of  particular  interest.  We  had,  however,  a 
delicious  Palatine  wine  —  Deidesheimer  Hofstuck  and  Forster 
Kirchenstuck,  a  noble  juice,  rich  in  all  virtues,  fragrant,  and 
fiery.  Ajis  Fcrierzvard dcr  Geist  c7'scJiaffcn.  Even  Bucher,  who 
usually  drinks  only  red  wine,  did  justice  to  this  heavenly  dew 
from  the  Haardt  Hills. 

I  afterwards  wrote  an  article  in  which  I  politely  expressed 
surprise  at  the  brazen  impudence  with  which  Grammont 
reminds  the  world  of  his  existence  in  the  Brussels  Ganlois. 
He  who,  through  his  unparalleled  ineptitude,  has  brought  so 
much  misery  upon  France,  should,  like  his  colleague  Ollivier, 
have  hidden  himself  in  silence  and  been  glad  to  be  forgotten. 
Or,  inspired  by  his  ancient  name,  he  should  have  joined  the 
army  and  fought  for  his  country,  so  as  in  some  degree  to  ex- 
piate the  wrong  he  has  done  it.  In.stead  of  doing  anything  of 
the  kind,  however,  he  dares  to  remind  the  world  that  he  still 
lives,  and  once  conducted  the  foreign  policy  of  France.  "  A 
blockhead,  a  coward,  an  impudent  fellow  ! "  said  the  Chief, 
when  he  instructed  me  to  write  this  article.  "You  can  use  the 
strongest  expressions  in  dealing  with  him." 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THE    PROSPECTS    OUTSIDE    PARIS    IMPROVE 

Wednesday,  December  yth. — At  dinner  the  Chief  related 
some  of  his  Frankfort  reminiscences.  "  It  was  possible  to  get 
on  with  Thun,"  he  said.  "  He  was  a  respectable  man.  Taken 
altogether,  Rechberg^  was  also  not  bad.  He  was  at  least 
honourable  from  a  personal  standpoint,  although  violent  and 
irascible  —  one  of  those  passionate,  fiery  blonds  !  It  is  true 
that  as  an  Austrian  diplomat  of  those  days  he  was  not  able  to 
pay  too  strict  a  regard  to  truth.  I  remember  his  once  receiving 
a  despatch  in  which  he  was  instructed  to  maintain  the  best 
relations  with  us,  a  second  despatch  being  sent  to  him  at  the 
same  time  enjoining  him  to  follow  an  exactly  opposite  course. 
I  happened  to  call  upon  him,  and  he  inadvertently  gave  me  the 
second  despatch  to  read.  I  saw  immediately  how  matters  stood 
and  read  it  through.  Then  handing  it  back  to  him  I  said  :  '  I 
beg  your  pardon,  but  you  have  given  me  the  wrong  one.'  He 
was  fearfully  embarrassed,  but  I  consoled  him,  saying  I  would 
take  no  advantage  of  his  mistake,  using  it  merely  for  my  personal 
information."  "  The  third,  however,  —  Prokesch,  —  was  not  at 
all  to  my  liking.  In  the  East  he  had  learnt  the  basest  forms  of 
intrigue  and  had  no  sense  of  honour  or  truth.  A  thorough- 
paced liar.  I  remember  being  once  in  a  large  company  w^here 
some  Austrian  assertion  which  was  not  in  accordance  with  the 
truth  was  being  discussed.  Prokesch,  raising  his  voice  in  order 
that  I  might  hear  him,  said :  '  If  that  be  not  true,  then  the 
Imperial  and  Royal  Cabinet  has  commissioned  me  to  commit 
an  act  of  perfidy;  indeed,  his  Imperial  and  Apostolic  Majesty 
has  lied  to  me  !  '  and  he  emphasised  the  word  lied.  He  looked 
at  me  whilst  he  was  speaking,  and,  when  he  had  finished,  I 
replied  quietly :    '  Quite   so,   Excellency ! '     He   was    obviously 

^  Thim,  Rechherg,  and  Prokesch  held  in  succession  the  position  of  Austrian  Min- 
ister to  the  Bundestag. 

279 


28o  ENGLISH    IDIOMS  [Dec.  8 

aghast,  and  as  he  looked  round  and  found  all  eyes  cast  down 
and  a  deep  silence  which  showed  approval  of  what  I  had  said, 
he  turned  away  without  a  word  and  went  into  the  dining-room 
where  the  table  was  laid.  He  had  recovered  himself,  however, 
after  dinner,  and  came  over  to  me  with  a  full  glass  in  his  hand 
—  but  for  that  I  should  have  thought  he  was  going  to  challenge 
me  —  and  said,  'Well,  let  us  make  peace.'  'Certainly,'  I 
replied,  '  but  what  I  said  in  the  other  room  was  true,  and  the 
protocol  must  be  altered.'  The  protocol  was  altered,  an  ad- 
mission that  it  had  contained  an  untruth.  A  rascally  fellow  !  " 
Thursday,  December  %tJi.  —  Some  one  asked  at  dinner  how 
the  question  of  Emperor  and  Empire  now  stood.  The  Chief 
replied  inter  alia  :  "  We  have  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  with 
it  in  the  way  of  telegrams  and  letters.  But  after  all  Holnstein 
has  done  the  greater  part  of  the  work.  He  is  a  clever  fellow, 
and  not  in  the  least  spoilt  by  or  prepossessed  in  favour  of  Court 
manners."  Putbus  asked  what  position  he  held.  "  Master  of 
the  Horse.  He  showed  himself  very  willing  and  energetic, 
making  the  journey  to  Munich  and  back  in  six  days.  In  the 
present  condition  of  the  railways  that  requires  a  great  deal  of 
good  will.  Of  course  he  has  the  necessary  physique.  Indeed, 
not  merely  to  Munich,  but  to  Hohenschwangau, — and  there 
saw  the  King,  who  had  just  been  operated  under  chloroform  for 
a  tumour  in  the  gum.  But  King  Lewis  also  greatly  contributed 
to  the  speedy  settlement  of  the  matter.  He  received  the  letter 
immediately,  and  at  once  gave  a  definite  answer.  He  might 
easily  have  said  that  he  must  first  take  some  fresh  air  in  the 
mountains,  and  would  answer  in  three  or  four  days.  The  Count 
has  certainly  done  us  a  very  good  service  in  the  affair  ;  but  I 
really  do  not  know  how  we  can  reward  him."  I  forget  how  the 
conversation  came  to  deal  with  the  terms  "swell,"  "snob,"  and 
"cockney,"  which  were  the  subject  of  much  discussion.  The 
Chief  mentioned  a  certain  diplomat  as  a  "swell,"  and  observed: 
"  It  is  really  a  capital  word,  but  we  cannot  translate  it  into  Ger- 
man. '  Stuizer,'  perhaj)s,  but  that  conveys  at  the  same  time 
pompousness  and  self-importance.  'Snob'  is  something  quite 
different,  while  it  is  also  very  difficult  for  us  to  render  proj^erly. 
It  denotes  a  variety  of  attributes,  but  principally  one-sidcdness, 
narrowness,  slavery  to  local  or  class  prejudices,  philistinism.  A 
'  snob '  is  something  like  our  '  Pfalbiirgcr,'  yet   not   quite.      It 


1S70J  VAKIICTIKS    OK   "SNOBS"  28 1 

includes  also  a  petty  conception  of  family  interests,  political 
narrow-niindcdness,  rigid  adherence  to  ideas  and  habits  that 
have  become  a  second  nature.  There  are  also  female  snobs  and 
very  distinguished  ones.  The  feminine  half  of  our  Court  are 
snobs.  Our  two  most  exalted  ladies  are  snobs.  The  male 
element  is  not  snobbish.  One  may  also  talk  of  party  snobs  — 
those  who  in  larger  political  issues  cannot  emancipate  them- 
selves from  the  rules  that  govern  private  conduct  —  the  '  Pro- 
gressist snob.'  The  cockney  again  is  quite  another  person. 
That  term  applies  more  particularly  to  Londoners.  There  are 
people  there  who  have  never  been  outside  their  own  walls  and 
streets,  never  got  away  from  the  brick  and  mortar,  who  have 
never  seen  life  anywhere  else  nor  travelled  beyond  the  sound  of 
Bow  Bells.  We  have  also  Berliners  who  have  never  left  their 
city.  But  Berlin  is  a  small  place  compared  to  London,  or 
even  Paris,  which  has  also  its  cockneys,  although  they  are 
known  by  another  name  there.  There  are  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands in  London  who  have  never  seen  anything  but  London.  In 
such  great  cities  conceptions  are  formed  which  permeate  the 
whole  community,  and  harden  into  the  most  inveterate  prejudices. 
Such  narrow  and  silly  ideas  arise  in  every  great  centre  of  popu- 
lation where  the  people  have  no  experience,  and  often  not  the 
faintest  notion  of  how  things  look  elsewhere.  Silliness  without 
conceit  is  endurable,  but  to  be  silly  and  unpractical,  and  at  the 
same  time  conceited,  is  intolerable.  Country  life  brings  people 
into  much  closer  contact  with  realities.  They  may  be  less 
educated  there,  but  what  they  know  they  know  thoroughly. 
There  are,  however,  snobs  in  the  country  also.  (Turning  to 
Putbus.)  Just  take  a  really  clever  shot.  He  is  convinced  that 
he  is  the  first  man  in  the  world,  and  that  sport  is  everything, 
and  that  those  who  do  not  understand  it  are  worth  nothing. 
And  then  a  man  who  lives  on  his  estate  in  a  remote  district, 
where  he  is  everything,  and  all  the  people  depend  upon  him ; 
when  he  comes  to  the  wool  market  and  finds  that  he  is  not  of 
the  same  importance  with  the  townspeople  as  he  is  at  home,  he 
gets  into  a  bad  temper,  sits  sulking  on  his  sack  of  wool,  and 
takes  no  notice  of  anything  else." 

At  tea,  Keudell  said  that  I  ought  really  to  see,  not  merely 
those  political  despatches,  reports,  and  drafts  which  I  received 
from  the  Minister,  but  everything  that  came  in  and  went  out. 


282  CARLYLE'S  LETTER  TO  THE    TIMES  [Dec.  12 

He  would  speak  on  the  subject  to  Abeken,  who  acts  here  as 
Secretary  of  State.     I  accepted  his  proposal  with  many  thanks. 

Bucher  informed  me  that  the  Minister  had  made  some  very 
interesting  remarks  in  the  drawing-room  while  they  were  taking 
coffee.  Prince  Putbus  mentioned  his  desire  to  travel  in  far-dis- 
tant lands.  "  It  might  be  possible  to  manage  that  for  you," 
said  the  Chief.  "You  might  be  commissioned  to  notify  the 
foundation  of  the  German  Empire  to  the  Emperor  of  China  and 
the  Tycoon  of  Japan."  The  Minister  then  discussed  at  length 
the  duties  of  the  German  aristocracy,  of  course  with  special 
reference  to  his  guest. 

The  King  was  faithful  to  his  duty,  but  he  was  born  in  the 
last  century,  and  thus  he  regarded  many  things  from  a  point  of 
view  which  was  no  longer  suitable  to  the  times.  He  would 
allow  himself  to  be  cut  to  pieces  in  the  interests  of  the  State, 
as  he  understood  them,  if  he  knew  that  his  family  would  be 
provided  for.  The  future  king  was  quite  different.  He  had 
not  this  strong  sense  of  duty.  When  he  found  himself  in  good 
case,  had  plenty  of  money  at  his  disposal,  and  was  praised  by 
the  newspapers,  he  was  quite  satisfied.  He  would  choose  his 
Ministers  in  the  English  fashion  from  the  Liberal  or  from  other 
parties  just  as  things  happened  in  the  Diet,  in  order  to  avoid 
trouble.  In  that  way,  however,  he  would  ruin  everything,  or 
at  least  produce  a  condition  of  constant  instability.  The  great 
nobles  ought  then  to  intervene.  They  must  have  a  sense  of 
the  necessities  of  the  State  and  recognise  their  mission,  which 
is  to  preserve  the  State  from  vacillation  and  uncertainty  in  the 
struggles  of  parties,  to  give  it  a  firm  support,  &c.  There  was 
no  objection  to  their  associating  with  a  Strousberg,  but  they 
would  do  better  to  become  bankers  straight  away. 

Monday,  December  \2th.  —  The  Chief's  indisposition  seems 
to  have  again  grown  worse,  and  it  is  said  that  he  is  in  a  par- 
ticularly bad  humour.  Dr.  Lauer  has  been  to  see  him.  The 
Times  contains  the  following  communication,  which  it  would  be 
impossible  for  us  to  improve  upon.^ 

'  The  communication  referrcrl  to  is  a  letter  by  Thomas  Carlyle  published  in  the 
Times  of  November  18,  in  which  it  occupied  two  and  a  half  columns.  The  passages 
quoted  by  Dr.  Husch  are  here  reproduced  from  the  original:  — 

"  The  question  for  the  Germans,  in  this  crisis,  is  not  one  of  '  magnanimity,'  of 
'  heroic  pity  and  forgiveness  to  a  fallen  foe,'  but  of  solid   prudence   and    practical 


1S70]  ENGIJSII    TRESS   OPINIONS  283 

An  excellent  letter,  which  we  must  submit  to  the  Versailles 
people  in  the  Man  it  cur. 

Busily  engaged  all  the  evening.  Translated  for  the  King 
articles  published  by  the  Times  and  Daily  Telegraph  warmly  ap- 
proving of  the  restoration  of  the  German  Empire  and  the  Impe- 
rial dignity. 

The  'Times  article,  after  stating  that  not  merely  the  fact  of 
the  restoration  of  the  German  Empire  but  also  the  manner  in 
which  it  had  been  brought  about  could  only  be  regarded  with 
the  liveliest  satisfaction,  proceeds  as  follows:  — 

"  The  political  significance  of  this  change  cannot  be  placed 
too  high.  A  mighty  revolution  has  been  accomplished  in  Eu- 
rope, and  all  our  traditions  have  suddenly  become  antiquated. 
No  one  can  pretend  to  predict  the  relations  of  the  Great  Pow- 
ers ;  but  it  is  not  very  difficult  to  forecast  in  a  general  way  the 
political  tendencies  of  the  time  on  which  we  are  about  to  enter. 
There  will  be  a  powerful  united  Germany,  presided  over  by  a 
family  which  represents  not  only  its  interests,  but  its  military 
fame.     On  the  one  side  will  be  Russia,  strong  and  watchful  as 

consideration  what  the  fallen  foe  will,  in  all  likelihood,  do  when  once  on  his  feet 
again.  Written  on  her  memory,  in  a  distinctly  instructive  manner,  Germany  has  an 
experience  of  400  years  on  this  point;  of  which  on  the  English  memory,  if  it  ever 
was  recorded  there,  there  is  now  little  or  no  trace  visible.  .  .  .  No  nation  ever  had 
so  bad  a  neighbour  as  Germany  has  had  in  France  for  the  last  400  years;  bad  in  all 
manner  of  ways;  insolent,  rapacious,  insatiable,  unappeasable,  continually  aggres- 
sive. .  .  .  Germany,  I  do  clearly  believe,  would  be  a  foolish  nation  not  to  think  of 
raising  up  some  secure  boundary  fence  between  herself  and  such  a  neighbour  now 
that  she  has  the  chance.  There  is  no  law  of  nature  that  I  know  of,  no  Heavens  Act 
of  Parliament  whereby  France,  alone  of  terrestrial  beings,  shall  not  restore  any  por- 
tion of  her  plundered  goods  when  the  owners  they  were  wrenched  from  have  an 
opportunity  upon  them.  .  .  .  The  French  complain  dreadfully  of  threatened 'loss 
of  honour';  and  lamentable  bystanders  plead  earnestly,  'Don't  dishonour  France; 
leave  poor  France's  honour  bright.'  But  will  it  save  the  /wnour  of  France  to  refuse 
paying  for  the  glass  she  has  voluntarily  broken  in  her  neighbour's  windows?  The 
attack  upon  the  windows  was  her  dishonour.  Signally  disgraceful  to  any  nation  was 
her  late  assault  on  Germany;  equally  signal  has  been  the  ignominy  of  its  execution 
on  the  part  of  France.  The  honour  of  France  can  be  saved  only  by  the  deep 
repentance  of  France,  and  by  the  serious  determination  never  to  do  so  again  —  to  do 
the  reverse  of  so  forever  henceforth.  .  .  .  For  the  present,  I  must  say,  France 
looks  more  and  more  delirious,  miserable,  blamable,  pitiable,  and  even  contemptible. 
She  refuses  to  see  the  facts  that  are  lying  palpably  before  her  face,  and  the  penalties 
she  has  brought  upon  herself.  A  France  scattered  into  anarchic  ruin,  without  recog- 
nisable head;  /;<?«(/,  or  chief,  indistinguishable  horn  feet,  or  rabble;  Ministers  flying 
up  in  balloons  ballasted  with  nothing  but  outrageous  public  lies,  proclamations  of 


284  THE  COSMOPOLITAN   REPUBLICANS  [Dec.  12 

ever ;  but  on  the  other  side  will  be  France,  which,  whether  patient 
under  her  reverses  or  burning  for  revenge,  will  be  for  a  time 
incapable  of  playing  that  great  part  in  Europe  which  belonged 
to  her  even  under  the  feebleness  of  the  Restoration.  Thus, 
whereas  we  had  formerly  two  strong  centralised  military  em- 
pires, with  a  distracted,  unready  nation  between  them,  which 
might  be  ground  to  powder  whenever  the  two  closed  to  crush 
it,  there  is  now  a  firm  barrier  erected  in  Central  Europe,  and 
the  fabric  is  correspondingly  strengthened.  In  this  the  policy 
of  past  generations  of  English  statesmen  is  fulfiilled.  They  all 
desired  the  creation  of  a  strong  Central  Power,  and  laboured  for 
it  in  peace  and  war  by  negotiations  and  alliances,  now  with  the 
Empire,  now  with  the  new  State  which  had  arisen  in  the  North." 
On  the  instructions  of  the  Chief,  I  also  wrote  a  paragraph 
for  the  press  to  the  effect  that  we  are  no  longer  opposed  by 
France,  but  rather  by  the  cosmopolitan  Red  Republicans,  Gari- 
baldi and  Mazzini  (who  arc  with  Gambetta,  and  act  as  his  coun- 
sellors), and  Polish,  Spanish,  and  Danish  adherents  of  that 
party.  The  aims  of  these  good  people  are  indicated  in  a  letter 
from  the  son  of  the  Prefect  Ordinaire,  who  describes  himself  as 

victories  that  were  creatures  of  the  fancy;  a  Government  subsisting  altogether  on 
mendacity,  willing  that  horrid  bloodshed  should  continue  and  increase  rather  than 
that  they,  beautiful  Republican  creatures,  should  cease  to  have  the  guidance  of  it; 
I  know  not  when  and  where  there  was  seen  a  nation  so  covering  itself  with  Jis- 
honour.  .  .  .  The  quantity  of  conscious  mendacity  that  France,  official  and  other, 
has  perpetrated  latterly,  especially  since  July  last,  is  something  wonderful  and  fearful. 
And,  alas !  perhaps  even  that  is  small  compared  to  the  self-delusion  and  Mwconscious 
mendacity  long  prevalent  among  the  French.  ...  To  me  at  times  the  mournfuUest 
symptom  in  France  is  the  figure  its  'men  of  genius,'  its  highest  literary  speakers,  who 
should  be  prophets  and  seers  to  it,  make  at  present,  and,  indeed,  for  a  generation 
back  have  been  making.  It  is  evidently  their  belief  that  new  celestial  wisdom  is 
radiating  out  of  France  upon  all  the  other  overshadowed  nations;  that  France  is  the 
new  Mount  Zion  of  the  universe;  and  that  all  this  sad,  sordid,  semi-delirious,  and,  in 
good  part,  infernal  stuff  which  French  literature  has  been  preaching  to  us  for  the 
last  fifty  years  is  a  veritable  new  Gospel  out  of  Heaven,  pregnant  with  blessedness  for 
all  the  sons  of  men.  ...  I  believe  Bismarck  (sic)  will  get  his  Alsace  and  what  he 
wants  of  Lorraine;  and  likewise  that  it  will  do  him,  and  us,  and  all  the  world,  and 
even  France  itself  by  and  by,  a  great  deal  of  good.  .  .  .  (Bismarck)  in  fact  seems  to 
me  to  be  striving  with  strong  faculty,  by  patient,  grand,  and  successful  steps,  towards 
an  object  beneficial  to  Germans  and  to  all  other  men.  That  noble,  patient,  deep,  and 
solid  Germany  should  be  at  length  welded  into  a  nation  and  become  Queen  of  the 
Continent,  instead  of  vapouring,  vainglorious,  gesticulating,  quarrelsome,  restless, 
and  over-sensitive  P'rance,  seems  to  me  the  hopefullest  public  fact  that  has  occurred 
in  my  time.  " — The  Tka.nsi.atok. 


iSjoJ  FRKNCH    RAVINGS  285 

an  officer  in  Garibaldi's  Cieneral  Staff.  This  letter,  which  is 
dated  from  Autuii  on  the  ir)th  of  November,  and  addressed  to 
tlie  editor  of  the  newspaper  Droits  dc  r Ilonimc,  contains  the  fol- 
lowing i)assage :  — 

"  You  will  see  from  the  postmark  where  we  arc  now  sta- 
tioned —  in  one  of  the  most  priest-ridden  towns  of  France.  It 
is  the  centre  of  monarchical  reaction.  It  looks  less  like  a  town 
than  an  enormous  monastery,  huge  black  walls  and  barred 
windows,  behind  which  monks  of  all  colours  intrigue  and  pray 
in  darkness  and  silence  for  the  success  of  the  good  cause.  In 
the  streets  our  red  shirts  are  constantly  brushing  against  the 
black  cassock  of  the  priest.  The  whole  population,  from  the 
tradespeople  downwards,  present  a  mystic  aspect,  and  appear 
as  if  they  had  been  all  drenched  in  holy  water.  We  are  re- 
garded here  as  if  we  had  been  inscribed  upon  the  Index,  and 
the  calumnies  that  are  rained  upon  us  rival  the  deluge.  A 
breach  of  discipline  (which  is  unavoidable  in  the  case  of  a 
volunteer  army)  is  immediately  exaggerated  into  a  great  crime. 
Trifles  are  transformed  into  outrages  that  deserve  to  be  punished 
by  death.  The  mountain  frequently  gives  birth  to  a  mere 
mouse,  but  the  bad  impression  produced  upon  the  public  mind 
remains. 

"  Would  you  believe  it }  The  officials  themselves  put  diffi- 
culties in  our  way  !  They  echo,  I  hope  unwittingly,  the  calum- 
nies that  are  circulated  against  us,  and  regard  us  with  evident 
ill  will.  Indeed,  our  fellow-citizens  are  almost  inclined  to  look 
upon  our  army  as  a  band  of  brigands.  Can  you  imagine  that 
the  monarchists  have  not  in  the  least  renounced  their  mischiev- 
ous endeavours,  and  hate  us  because  we  have  sworn  never  to 
permit  the  reercction  of  those  mountebank  stages  from  which 
kings  and  emperors  have  ordered  nations  as  the  humour  took 
them  }  Yes,  we  proclaim  the  fact  aloud  that  we  are  soldiers  of 
the  Revolution,  and  I  would  add  not  of  the  French  Revolution 
alone,  but  of  the  cosmopolitan  revolution.  Italians,  Spaniards, 
Poles,  and  Hungarians,  in  gathering  under  the  French  flag, 
clearly  understand  that  they  are  defending  the  Universal 
Republic.  The  real  nature  of  the  struggle  is  now  evident.  It 
is  a  war  between  the  principle  of  the  divine  right  of  kings  and 
of  force,  and  that  of  popular  sovereignty,  civilisation,  and  free- 
dom.    The  fatherland  disappears  before  the  Republic. 


286  "CITIZENS   OF  THE   WORLD"  [Dec.  13 

"  We  are  citizens  of  the  world,  and  whatever  may  happen 
we  will  fight  to  the  death  for  the  realisation  of  that  noble  ideal 
of  the  United  States  of  Europe,  that  is  to  say,  the  fraternisation 
of  all  free  peoples.  The  monarchical  reactionaries  know  that, 
and  so  they  reinforce  the  Prussian  forces  with  their  own  legions. 
We  have  the  enemies'  bayonets  in  front,  and  treason  behind  u^. 
Why  is  not  every  old  official  sent  about  his  business  .-*  Why 
are  not  all  the  old  generals  of  the  Empire  ruthlessly  cashiered.'* 
Cannot  the  Government  of  National  Defence  see  that  they  are 
being  betrayed,  and  that  these  people,  with  their  hypocritical 
manoeuvres,  shameful  capitulations,  and  inexplicable  retreats 
are  preparing  for  a  Bonapartist  restoration,  or,  at  least,  for  the 
accession  of  an  Orleans  or  a  Bourbon.-' 

"  But  the  Government  w^hich  has  undertaken  the  task  of 
delivering  the  contaminated  soil  of  France  from  foreign  hordes 
should  take  care.  In  times  like  the  present,  and  under  the 
fearful  conditions  in  which  we  find  ourselves,  it  is  not  enough 
to  be  honest.  It  is  also  necessary  to  show  energy,  to  keep  a 
cool  head,  and  not  to  allow  one's  self  to  be  drowned  in  a  glass 
of  water.  Let  the  Cremieu.xs,  the  Glais-Bizoins,  and  the 
Fourichons  remember  the  manner  in  which  the  men  of  1792 
and  '93  acted  !  To-day  we  need  a  Danton,  a  Robespierre,  the 
men  of  the  C()n\'ention !  Away  with  you,  gentlemen  !  Make 
room  for  the  Revolution  !  That  alone  can  save  us.  Great  crises 
demand  great  measures  !  " 

The  fatherland  disappears  before  the  Republic  !  Resort  to 
the  great  measures  adopted  by  Danton  and  Robespierre !  Be- 
head every  one  who  differs  from  us  in  religious  and  political 
affairs,  and  establish  the  guillotine  as  a  j^ermanent  institution. 
Dismiss  Generals  Chancy  and  l^ourbaki,  Faidherbe  and  Vinoy, 
Ducrot  and  Trochu,  and  a]:)point  private  soldiers  in  their  place. 
That  is  the  gospel  preached  by  the  son  of  a  Prefect  in  the  de- 
partment of  Doubs,  an  officer  of  Garibaldi's  General  Staff.  I 
wonder  whether  these  ]:)r()posals  will  commend  themselves  to 
many  of  the  \'ersaillcs  peo])lc  when  they  see  this  letter  in  the 
Monitcur  one  of  these  days  } 

Tuesday,  Dccembc7'  \^f/i.  —  In  the  morning  wrote  another 
article  on  the  confession  of  faith  of  the  cosmopolitan  Repub- 
licans. The  Chief's  health  is  somewhat  better,  only  he  feels 
very  exhausted.  .  .   . 


1870)  CAN    IJISMAKCK    RESIGN?  287 

At  lunch  Buchcr,  Hatzfeld,  and  Keudell  declared  in  all  seri- 
ousness that  they  thought  the  Chancellor  would  resign.  It  was 
jestingly  suggested  that  he  would  be  followed  by  a  Ministry 
under  Lasker,  who  would  be  "a  kind  of  Ollivier,"  and  then 
half  in  joke,  half  in  earnest,  the  possibility  was  discussed  of  our 
having  for  a  Chancellor  Delbrlick,  —  "a  very  clever  man,  but 
no  politician." 

I  regarded  it  as  absolutely  inconceivable  that  the  Chief  could 
ever  be  allowed  to  resign,  even  if  he  requested  to  be  relieved 
from  office.  They  thought,  nevertheless,  that  it  was  possible. 
I  said  that  in  such  circumstances  they  would  be  obliged  to  re- 
call him  in  less  than  a  month.  Bucher  questioned  whether  he 
would  come  back,  and  said  positively  that  so  far  as  he  knew 
him,  if  the  Count  once  retired  he  would  never  take  office  again. 
He  enjoyed  himself  far  too  well  at  Varzin,  free  from  business 
and  worry  of  every  kind.  He  liked  best  of  all  to  be  in  the 
woods  and  fields.  The  Countess  had  once  said  to  him :  "  Be- 
lieve me,  a  turnip  interests  him  (Bismarck)  more  than  all  your 
politics."  That  statement,  however,  must  not  be  too  hastily  ac- 
cepted, and  must  be  limited  to  a  temporary  state  of  feeling. 

About  1.30  P.M.  I  was  summoned  to  the  Chancellor.  He 
wished  me  to  call  attention  to  the  difficulties  of  the  King  of 
Holland  with  regard  to  a  new  Ministry,  and  to  point  to  this  as 
the  result  of  a  purely  Parliamentary  system  under  which  the 
advisers  of  the  Crown  must  retire,  whatever  the  condition  of 
affairs  may  be,  when  a  majority  of  the  representatives  is  op- 
posed to  them  on  any  question.  He  observed :  "  I  remember 
when  I  became  Minister  that  there  had  been  twenty  or  twenty- 
one  Ministries  since  the  introduction  of  the  constitutional  sys- 
tem. If  the  principle  of  Ministers  retiring  before  a  hostile 
majority  be  too  strictly  enforced,  far  too  many  politicians  will 
be  used  up.  Then  mediocrities  will  have  to  be  taken  for  the 
post,  and  finally  there  will  be  no  one  left  who  will  care  to  de- 
vote himself  to  such  a  trade.  The  moral  is  that  either  the 
advantages  of  a  Minister's  position  must  be  increased,  or  the 
Parliamentary  system  must  be  applied  less  stringently." 

The  Chief  went  out  for  a  drive  at  3  o'clock,  after  Russell 
had  again  called  upon  him. 

He  talked  after  dinner  about  his  negotiations  with  Russell 
and   the  demands   of    Gortchakoff.       He    said    among-st   other 


288  GERMANY   AND    RUSSIA  [Dec.  14 

things:  "They  do  not  want  in  London  to  give  an  unqualified 
approval  to  the  proposal  that  the  Black  Sea  shall  be  again  given 
up  to  Russia  and  the  Turks  with  full  sovereignty  over  its  coast. 
They  are  afraid  of  public  opinion  in  England,  and  Russell 
returns  again  and  again  to  the  idea  that  some  equivalent  might 
possibly  be  found.  He  asked,  for  instance,  whether  it  would 
not  be  possible  for  us  to  join  in  the  agreement  of  the  i6th  of 
April,  1856.  I  replied  that  Germany  had  no  real  interest  in 
the  matter.  Or  whether  we  would  bind  ourselves  to  observe 
neutrality  in  case  of  a  conflict  some  day  breaking  out  there.  I 
told  him  I  was  not  in  favour  of  a  conjectural  policy,  such  as  his 
suggestion  involved.  It  would  depend  altogether  on  circum- 
stances. For  the  present  we  saw  no  reason  why  we  should 
take  any  part  in  the  matter.  That  ought  to  suffice  for  him. 
Besides,  I  did  not  believe  that  gratitude  had  no  place  in  politics. 
The  present  Tsar  had  always  acted  in  a  friendly  and  benevo- 
lent manner  towards  us.  Austria,  on  the  other  hand,  was  up 
to  the  present  little  to  be  trusted  and  took  up  at  times  a  very 
dubious  attitude.  Of  course  he  knew  himself  how  far  we  were 
indebted  to  1-Lngland.  The  friendship  of  the  Tsar  was  the 
legacy  of  old  relations,  based  partly  on  family  connections,  but 
partly  also  on  the  recognition  that  our  interests  are  not  op- 
posed to  his.  We  did  not  know  what  those  relations  would  be 
in  future,  and  therefore  it  was  impossible  to  speak  about  them. 
.  .  .  Our  position  would  now  be  different  to  what  it  was 
formerly.  We  should  be  the  only  Power  that  had  reason  to  be 
satisfied ;  we  had  no  call  to  oblige  any  one  of  whose  willingness 
to  reciprocate  our  services  we  could  not  altogether  feel  sure. 
.  .  .  He  returned  again  and  again  to  the  suggestion  as  to  an 
equivalent,  and  at  length  asked  me  if  I  could  not  propose 
something.  I  spoke  of  making  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Black 
Sea  free  to  all.  That  would  please  Russia,  as  she  could  then 
pass  from  the  Black  Sea  into  the  Mediterranean,  and  Turkey 
also,  as  she  could  have  her  friends,  including  the  Americans, 
near  her.  It  would  remove  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  Ameri- 
cans held  with  the  Russians,  namely,  their  desire  for  free 
navigation  in  all  seas.  He  seemed  to  recognise  the  truth  of 
that."  The  Chancellor  added  :  "  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Rus- 
sians should  not  have  been  so  modest  in  their  demands.  They 
ought  to  have  asked  for  more,  and  tlien  the  matter  of  the  Black 


iS-jul         DlSSATlSl'ACnoX    WITH   TIIK   BAVARIAN   TKEATV  289 

Sea  would  have  been  granted  to  them  without  any  difficulty." 
Turning  to  Abeken  the  Minister  said  :  "  Write  that  to  Bcrn- 
storff  and  also  to  Reuss  for  his  information.  In  writing  to  the 
latter,  suggest  that  in  St.  Petersburg  they  should  try  to  find 
something  harmless  that  would   look  like  an  equivalent." 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  the  four  new  points  of 
international  law  respecting  navigation  —  that  no  privateers 
should  be  fitted  out,  that  goods  should  not  be  seized  so  far  as 
they  were  not  contraband  of  war,  and  that  a  blockade  was  only 
valid  when  effective,  &c.  The  Chief  remarked  that  one  of 
these  was  llagrantly  violated  by  the  French  in  burning  a  Ger- 
man ship.  He  concluded  the  conversation  on  this  head  by 
saying,  "  We  must  see  how  we  are  to  get  rid  of  this  rub- 
bish." 

\Vcd)iisdaj',  DcccDibcr  i^th.  —  The  German  party  of  centrali- 
sation are  still  dissatisfied  with  the  ]5avarian  Treaty.  Trei- 
tschke  writes  me  from  Heidelberg  on  the  subject  in  an  almost 
despairing  tone :  "  I  quite  understand  that  Count  Bismarck 
could  not  have  acted  otherwise,  but  it  remains  a  very  regret- 
table affair  all  the  same.  Bavaria  has  once  more  clogged  our 
feet  as  she  did  in  1813  in  the  Treaty  of  Ried.  So  long  as  we 
have  our  leading  statesman  we  can  manage  to  move  in  spite 
of  that.  But  how  will  it  be  later  on .''  I  cannot  feel  that 
unquestioning  confidence  in  the  vitality  of  the  new  Empire 
which  I  had  in  that  of  the  North  German  Confederation.  I 
only  hope  that  the  nation  will  prosper,  owing  to  its  own  healthy 
vigour,  in  spite  of  constitutional  deficiencies." 

The  Chief  and  Count  Holnstein  dined  with  us.  Politics 
were  not  discussed.  The  Minister  was  very  cheerful  and  com- 
municative, and  spoke  on  a  variety  of  subjects.  He  said, 
amongst  other  things,  that  as  a  young  man  he  was  a  swift 
runner  and  a  good  jumper.  His  sons,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
unusually  strong  in  the  arms.  He  should  not  care  to  try  a  fall 
with  either  of  them. 

The  Minister  then  sent  for  the  gold  pen  that  had  been  pre- 
sented to  him  by  Bissinger,  the  jeweller,  and  mentioned  that 
the  Countess  had  written  to  him  asking  about  it,  remarking  that 
"doubtless  it  was  a  lie,  like  the  story  of  the  baby  at  Meaux." 
We  now  heard  for  the  first  time  that  a  new-born  baby,  the  child 
of  one  of  the  French  soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  one    of    the 

VOL.  I.  —  U 


290  THE   DEPUTATION   FROM  THE   REICHSTAG  [Dec.  15 

recent  battles,  was  supposed  to  have  been  smuggled  into  the 
Chief's  bed.     This  was,  of  course,  a  mere  newspaper  invention. 

The  conversation  afterwards  turned  on  the  deputation  from 
the  Reichstag,  which  was  already  at  Strasburg,  and  would 
arrive  here  to-morrow.  The  Chancellor  said  :  "  We  must  begin 
to  think  what  we  are  to  reply  to  their  address.  The  speech- 
making  will  be  a  real  pleasure  to  Simson.  He  has  been 
already  engaged  in  several  affairs  of  the  kind  —  in  the  first 
deputation  to  the  Hohenzollernburg  respecting  the  imperial 
dignity.  He  makes  a  good  speech,  loves  to  talk,  and  thor- 
oughly enjoys  himself  on  such  occasions." 

Abeken  observed  that  Loewe,  the  member  of  the  Reichstag, 
said  that  he  also  had  taken  part  in  such  a  function,  but  had 
afterwards  plenty  of  opportunity  to  think  over  the  matter  in  a 
foreign  country. 

"  Ah  !  Was  he  also  engaged  in  the  1849  affair  ? "  asked  the 
Chief. 

"Yes,"  said  Bucher;  " he  was  President  of  the  Reichstag." 

"  But,"  said  the  Chief,  "  he  need  not  have  left  his  country  on 
account  of  the  part  he  took  in  the  proposal  as  to  the  Emperor. 
It  must  have  been  because  of  his  journey  to  Stuttgart,  which 
was  quite  a  different  story." 

The  Minister  then  spoke  of  the  Hohenzollernburg,  where 
each  branch  of  the  family  had  a  special  suite  of  apartments  ; 
of  an  old  castle  in  Pomcrania,  where  all  members  of  the  family 
of  Dcwitz  had  a  right  to  lodgings,  —  it  was  now  reduced  to  a 
picturesque  ruin,  after  having  long  served  as  a  stone  quarry  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring  country  town ;  and  after- 
wards of  a  landed  proprietor  who  had  a  singular  way  of  raising 
money.  "  He  was  always  hard  up,  and  on  one  occasion,  when 
he  was  in  desperate  straits,  his  woods  were  attacked  by  cater- 
pillars, then  a  fire  l^roke  out,  and  finally  a  number  of  trees 
were  blown  down  by  a  gale.  He  was  miserable,  and  thought 
he  was  bankrupt.  So  the  timber  had  to  be  sold,  and  he  sud- 
denly found  himself  in  jDossession  of  a  lot  of  money,  fifty  or 
sixty  thousand  thalers,  which  set  him  on  his  legs  again.  It  had 
never  occurred  to  him  that  he  could  have  his  trees  cut  down." 

This  story  led  the  Chief  to  speak  of  another  extraordinary 
gcnticniaii,  a  neighbour  of  his.  (Query,  in  Varzin.)  "He  had 
ten  or  twelve  estates,  but  was  always  short  of  ready  money,  and 


1870J  lUSMARCK'S   "YOUNGSTERS"  291 

frequently  felt  a  desire  to  spend  some.  When  he  wished  to 
invite  some  people  to  a  decent  lunch  he  usually  sold  an  estate, 
so  that  at  length  he  had  only  one  or  two  left.  Some  of  his  own 
tenants  bought  one  of  the  former  lot  from  him  for  35,000 
thalers,  paying  him  5,000  thalers  down.  They  then  sold  a 
quantity  of  timber  for  shipbuilding  purposes  for  22,000  thalers, 
an  idea  which,  of  course,  had  never  occurred  to  him." 

The  Minister  then  referred  to  the  Hartschiere  (big  tall  men, 
chosen  for  the  Royal  Body-Guard  on  account  of  their  size)  in 
Munich,  who  made  a  great  impression  upon  him  owing  to  their 
bulk  and  general  character,  and  who  are  understood  to  be  ex- 
cellent connoisseurs  of  beer. 

Finally,  it  was  mentioned  that  Count  Bill  was  the  first  Ger- 
man to  ride  into  Rouen.  Somebody  remarked  that  his  appear- 
ance would  have  convinced  the  inhabitants  of  that  city  that  our 
troops  had  not  up  to  the  present  been  put  on  short  rations. 
This  led  the  Chancellor  to  speak  again  of  the  strength  of  his 
"youngsters."  "They  are  unusually  strong  for  their  age,"  he 
said,  "  although  they  have  not  learnt  gymnastics  —  very  much 
against  my  desire,  but  it  is  not  considered  the  proper  thing  for 
the  sons  of  a  diplomatist." 

While  enjoying  his  after-dinner  cigar  the  Chief  asked  if  the 
members  of  his  staff  were  smokers.  Yes,  every  one  of  them, 
Abeken  replied.  "Well,  then,"  said  the  Minister,  "Engel  niust 
divide  the  Hamburg  cigars  between  them.  I  have  received  so 
many  that  if  the  war  were  to  last  for  twelve  months  I  should 
still  bring  some  home  with  me." 

TImrsday,  Dccc7nbcr  i^th.  —  Count  Frankenberg  and  Count 
Lehndorff  joined  us  at  dinner.  Prince  Pless  coming  in  half  an 
hour  later.  The  Chief  was  in  high  spirits  and  very  talkative. 
The  conversation  at  first  turned  on  the  question  of  the  day,  that 
is  to  say,  the  commencement  of  the  bombardment.  The  Minis- 
ter said  it  might  be  expected  within  the  next  eight  or  ten  days. 
It  would  possibly  not  be  very  successful  during  the  first  weeks, 
as  the  Parisians  had  had  time  to  take  precautions  against  it. 
Frankenberg  said  that  in  Berlin,  and  particularly  in  the  Reichs- 
tag, no  subject  was  so  much  discussed  as  the  reasons  why  the 
bombardment  had  been  postponed  up  to  the  present.  Every- 
thing else  gave  way  to  that.  The  Chief  replied  :  "  Yes,  but 
now  that  Roon  has  taken  the  matter  in  hand,  something  will  be 


292  BAD   STAGE   MANAGEMENT  [Dec.  15 

done.  A  thousand  ammunition  waggons  with  the  necessary 
teams  arc  on  their  way  here,  and  it  is  said  that  some  of  the  new 
mortars  have  arrived.  Now  that  Roon  has  taken  it  up,  something 
will  at  last  be  done." 

The  manner  in  which  the  restoration  of  the  imperial  dignity 
in  Germany  had  been  brought  before  the  Reichstag  was  then 
discussed,  and  Frankenberg  as  well  as  Prince  Pless  were  of 
opinion  that  it  might  have  been  better  managed.  The  Con- 
servatives had  not  been  informed  beforehand,  and  the  state- 
ment was  actually  made  when  they  were  sitting  at  lunch.  To 
all  appearance  Windthorst  was  not  wrong  when,  with  his  usual 
dexterity  in  seizing  his  opportunities,  he  remarked  that  he  had 
expected  more  sympathy  from  the  Assembly. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Chief,  "  there  ought  to  have  been  a  better 
stage  manager  for  the  farce.  It  should  have  had  a  more 
effective  inisc-cii-sccnc,  —  but  Delbrlick  does  not  understand 
that  sort  of  thing.  Some  one  should  have  got  up  to  express 
his  dissatisfaction  with  the  Bavarian  Treaties,  which  lacked 
this,  that,  and  the  other.  Then  he  should  have  said :  '  If, 
however,  an  equivalent  were  found  to  compensate  for  these 
defects,  something  in  which  the  unity  of  the  nation  would  find 
expression,  that  would  be  different,'  —  and  then  the  Emperor 
should  have  been  brought  forward."  ...  "  Moreover,  the 
Emperor  is  more  important  than  many  people  think.  I  could 
not  tell  them  (that  is  to  say,  the  Princes)  what  it  all  means  — 
if  I  ,had,  I  certainly  should  not  have  succeeded.  ...  I  admit 
that  the  Bavarian  Treaty  has  defects  and  deficiencies.  That 
is,  however,  easily  said  when  one  is  not  responsible.  How 
would  it  have  been,  then,  if  I  had  refused  to  make  concessions 
and  no  treaty  had  been  concluded .''  It  is  impossible  to  conceive 
all  the  difficulties  that  would  have  resulted  from  such  a  failure, 
and  for  that  reason  I  was  in  mortal  anxiety  over  the  easy  un- 
concern of  centralising  gentlemen  in  the  Diet."  ...  "  Last 
night,  after  a  long  interval,  I  had  again  a  couple  of  hours  of 
good  deep  .sleep.  At  first  I  could  not  get  off  to  sleep,  worrying 
and  pondering  over  all  sorts  of  things.  Then  suddenly  I  saw 
Varzin  before  me,  quite  distinctly  to  the  smallest  detail,  like  a 
big  picture,  with  all  the  colours  even  —  green  trees,  the  sunshine 
on  the  stems,  and  a  blue  sky  al)ove  it  all.  I  saw  each  single 
tree.     I  tried  to  get  rid  of  it,  but  it  came  back  and  tormented 


iSjo]  i)i;i,i;Ki  (  K,   riiK  "LHUIral  minis ii:r"  293 

nic,  and  at  lent;th  when  it  faded  away  it  was  replaced  by  other 
pictures,  documents,  notes,  despatches,  until  at  last  towards 
mornin_t;  I   fell  asleep." 

Whilst  Hucher  and  myself  were  alone  at  tea,  he  told  me  that 
Delbriick,  who  is  the  "  Liberal  Minister,"  holds  with  the  Liberals 
and  is  "thinking:  of  the  future."  "At  an  early  stage  of  his 
career  the  Chief  offered  him  the  Ministry  of  Commerce.  Del- 
briick declined  it,  saying :  '  Yes,  Excellency,  but  you  may  not 
remain  long  yourself,  and  I  should  prefer  not  to  accept  it. 
What  should  I  do  if  you  retired  .''  I  should  be  obliged  to  go 
too  and  renounce  official  life,  and  of  course  that  would  not  do.'  " 


CHAPTER   XV 

CHAUDORDY     AND     THE     TRUTH OFFICERS      OF      BAD      FAITH  — 

FRENCH     GARBLING  —  THE     CROWN     PRINCE     DINES    WITH     THE 
CHIEF 

Friday,  Dcccviber  \6th.  —  In  the  morning  I  wrote  several 
articles  on  M.  de  Chaudordy's  circular  as  to  the  barbarity  with 
which  we  are  alleged  to  conduct  the  war.  They  were  to  the 
following  effect :  In  addition  to  the  calumnies  that  have  been 
circulated  for  months  past  by  the  French  press  with  the  object 
of  exciting  public  opinion  against  us,  a  document  has  now  been 
issued  by  the  Provisional  Government  itself  for  the  purpose  of 
prejudicing  foreign  Courts  and  Cabinets  by  means  of  garbled 
and  exaggerated  accounts  of  our  conduct  in  the  present  war. 
An  official  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  at  Tours,  M.  de 
Chaudordy,  impeaches  us  in  a  circular  to  the  neutral  Powers. 
Let  us  consider  the  main  points  in  his  statement  and  sec  how 
the  matter  stands  in  reality,  and  who  can  be  justly  charged 
with  barbarous  methods  of  warfare,  ourselves  or  the  French. 

He  asserts  that  we  make  excessive  requisitions,  and  abuse 
our  power  in  the  occupied  towns  and  districts,  to  extort  impos- 
sible contributions.  We  are  further  stated  to  have  seized  pri- 
vate property,  and  to  have  cruelly  burnt  down  towns  and  villages, 
whose  inhabitants  have  offered  resistance,  or  have  in  any  way 
assisted  in  the  defence  of  their  country.  Our  accuser  says  : 
"  Commanding  officers  have  ordered  a  town  to  be  plundered 
and  burnt  down  as  a  punishment  for  the  acts  of  individual 
citizens  whose  sole  crime  consisted  in  resisting  the  invaders, 
thus  misusing  the  inexorable  discipline  imposed  upon  their 
troops.  Every  house  in  which  a  franctireur  had  been  con- 
cealed, or  received  a  meal,  has  been  burnt  down.  How  can  this 
be  reconciled  with  respect  for  private  property  .'  "  The  circular 
states  that  in  firing  upon  open  towns  we  have  introduced  a  pro- 
cedure hitherto  unexampled  in  war.      Finally,  in  addition  to  all 

294 


Dkc.  i6,  1S70]  FRENCH    BARBARITY  295 

our  Other  cruelties,  we  take  hostaj^es  with  us  on  railway  journeys 
to  secure  ourselves  against  the  removal  of  the  rails  and  other 
injuries  and  dangers. 

In  reply  to  these  charges  we  offer  the  following  observations  : 
If  M.  de  Chaudordy  understood  anything  about  war,  he  would 
not  complain  of  the  sacrifices  which  our  operations  have  imposed 
upon  the  French  people,  but  would,  on  the  contrary,  be  surprised 
at  our  relative  moderation.  Moreover,  the  German  troops  re- 
spect private  property  everywhere,  although  they  can  certainly 
not  be  expected,  after  long  marches  and  severe  fighting,  and 
after  enduring  cold  and  hunger,  to  refrain  from  securing  as 
comfortable  quarters  as  possible,  or  from  demanding,  or,  if  the 
inhabitants  have  fled,  helping  themselves  to  absolute  necessaries 
such  as  food,  drink,  firing,  &c.  Moreover,  instead  of  seizing 
private  property,  as  M.  de  Chaudordy  asserts,  our  soldiers  have 
frequently  done  the  reverse,  and  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives 
rescued  for  the  owners  works  of  art  and  other  valuables  which 
were  endangered  by  the  fire  of  the  French  guns.  We  have 
burnt  down  villages,  but  does  our  accuser  know  nothing  of  our 
reasons  for  doing  so  .■'  Is  he  not  aware  that  in  those  villages 
franctireurs  have  treacherously  fired  upon  our  people,  and  that 
the  inhabitants  have  given  every  possible  assistance  to  the 
murderers .-'  Has  he  heard  nothing  of  the  franctireurs  who 
recently  left  Fontaines,  and  who  boldly  stated  that  the  object 
of  their  march  was  to  inspect  the  houses  in  the  neighbourhood 
which  were  worth  pillaging .''  Can  he  bring  forward  a  single 
well-established  case  of  outrage  committed  by  our  soldiers  such 
as  those  of  which  the  Turcos  and  French  guerillas  have  been 
guilty .''  Have  our  troops  cut  off  the  noses  or  ears  of  their 
wounded  or  dead  opponents,  as  the  French  did  at  Coulours  on 
the  30th  of  November.?  On  the  nth  of  December,  when  800 
German  prisoners  should  have  been  brought  into  Lille,  only  200 
of  them  actually  arrived.  Many  of  these  were  severely  wounded, 
yet  instead  of  affording  them  succour,  the  people  of  the  town 
pelted  them  with  snowballs,  and  shouted  to  the  soldiers  to  bay- 
onet them.  The  frequency  with  which  the  French  have  fired 
at  the  bearers  of  flags  of  truce  is  something  unheard  of.  There 
is  good  evidence  for  the  truth  of  the  following  incident,  however 
incredible  it  may  appear.  On  the  2nd  of  December,  a  German 
sergeant  named  Steinmetz,  at  the  exj^ress  desire  of  an  ofificer 


296  FRANCTIREURS   AND   HOSTAGES  [Dec.  16 

of  the  Garibaldian  troops,  wrote  a  letter  to  his  lieutenant  in 
Mirccourt,  stating  that  if  our  side  took  reprisals  against  Vittcl 
or  other  places  in  the  neighbourhood,  the  ears  of  fourteen  Prus- 
sian prisoners,  who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  guerillas  in 
a  surprise  attack,  would  be  cut  off. 

In  many  instances  we  have  not  treated  those  volunteers  as 
soldiers,  but  that  was  only  in  cases  where  they  did  not  act  as 
soldiers,  but,  on  the  contrary,  followed  the  principles  recom- 
mended by  the  Prefect,  Luce  Villiard,  in  the  address  issued  by 
him  through  the  Maires  to  the  peasants  of  the  Cote  d'Or  de- 
partment. M.  Villiard  said :  "  The  country  does  not  demand 
that  you  should  collect  in  large  masses  and  openly  oppose  the 
enemy.  It  expects  that  every  mornfng  three  or  four  resolute 
men  amongst  you  shall  leave  your  villages  and  select  some  good 
natural  position  from  which  you  can  fire  upon  the  Prussians 
without  risk.  You  must  above  all  direct  your  fire  against  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  and  bring  their  horses  in  to  the  chief  district 
towns.  I  will  distribute  premiums  amongst  you,  and  your  heroic 
deeds  shall  be  published  in  all  the  newspapers  of  the  Provinces 
as  well  as  in  the  Official  Journal." 

We  have  bombarded  open  cities,  such  as  Orleans,  but  is  M. 
de  Chaudordy  not  aware  that  they  were  occupied  by  the  enemy  ? 
And  has  he  forgotten  that  the  I-^rench  bombarded  the  open 
towns  of  Saarbriicken  and  Kchl  ?  Finally,  as  to  the  hostages 
who  were  obliged  to  accompany  the  railway  trains,  they  were 
taken  not  to  serve  as  a  hindrance  to  French  heroism,  but  as  a 
precaution  against  treacherous  crime.  The  railway  does  not 
convey  merely  soldiers,  arms,  ammunition,  and  other  war  mate- 
rial, against  which  it  may  be  allowable  to  use  violent  measures  : 
it  also  conveys  great  numbers  of  wounded,  doctors,  hospital 
attendants,  and  other  perfectly  harmless  persons.  Is  a  peasant 
or  a  franctireur  to  be  allowed  to  endanger  hundreds  of  those 
lives  by  removing  a  rail  or  laying  a  stone  uj:)on  the  line.-*  Let 
the  French  see  that  the  security  of  the  railway  trains  is  no 
long(^r  threatened  and  the  journeys  made  by  tho.se  hostages  will 
be  merely  outings,  or  f)ur  people  may  even  be  able  to  forego 
such  precautionary  measures.  We  forbear  to  deal  any  further 
with  the  charges  of  M.  de  Chaudordy.  The  luiropcan  cabinets 
are  aware  of  the  humane  sentiments  which  insj:)ire  German 
methods  of  warfare,  and  they  will  easily  be  able  to  form  a  just 


1S70]  rARTICULAKISTS   IN    BAVARIA  297 

estimate  of  the  value  of  these  charges.  War,  moreover,  is  and 
remains  war,  and  it  cannot  be  waged  with  velvet  gloves.  We 
should  perhaps  less  frequently  employ  the  iron  gloves  if  the 
Government  of  National  Defence  had  not  declared  a  people's 
war,  which  invariably  leads  to  greater  harshness  than  a  conflict 
between  regular  armies. 

Bohlen,  who  is  still  unwell,  Hatzfeld,  who  is  indisposed,  and 
Keudell,  who  received  a  command  to  dine  with  the  King,  were 
absent  from  dinner.  Count  Holnstein  and  Prince  Putbus  were 
present  as  guests.  The  first  subject  to  be  touched  upon  was 
the  l^avarian  Treaty,  which  Holnstein  expected  would  be  ap- 
proved of  by  the  second  Bavarian  Chamber,  in  which  a  two- 
thirds  majority  was  necessary.  It  was  already  known  that 
there  were  only  some  forty  members  opposed  to  it.  It  was  also 
practically  certain  that  it  would  not  be  rejected  by  the  Upper 
House. 

"  Thuengen  will  doubtless  be  in  favour  of  it,"  observed  the 
Chief. 

"  I  believe  so,"  replied  Holnstein,  "as  he  also  voted  in  favour 
of  joining  in  the  war." 

"Yes,"  said  the  Minister,  "he  is  one  of  the  honest  Particu- 
larists ;  but  there  are  some  who  are  not  honest  and  who  have 
other  objects  in  view." 

"  Certainly,"  added  Holnstein.  "  Some  of  the  patriots  showed 
that  quite  clearly.  They  omitted  the  words,  '  For  King  and 
Country,'  retaining  only  '  Mit  Gott.'  " 

Putbus  then  referred  to  the  approaching  holidays,  and  said 
it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  give  the  people  in  the  hospital  a 
Christmas  tree.  A  collection  had  been  started  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  2500  francs  had  already  been  received.  "  Pless  and 
I  put  down  our  names,"  he  said.  "The  subscription  list  was 
then  laid  before  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar,  and  he  gave  300 
francs ;  and  the  Coburger,  who  was  then  attacked,  gave  200. 
He  would  certainly  have  been  glad  to  get  out  of  it.  He  should 
at  least  have  contrived  not  to  give  more  than  Weimar  or  less 
than  Pless."  "  It  must  certainly  have  been  very  disagreeable 
to  him,"  said  the  Minister.  Putbus:  "  But  why  .''  He  is  a  rich 
man!"  The  Chief  :  "Very  rich!"  Putbus:  "  Why,  certainly, 
he  has  come  in  for  an  enormous  forest  which  is  worth  over  a 
million."     The  Chief:  "The  Crown  Princess  secured  that  for 


29^  THE  NEW   FRENCH   LOAN  [Dec.  i6 

him  through  all  sorts  of  stratagems,  which  she  also  tried  on 
with  me.  But  I  have  done  with  him.  He  shall  never  get  my 
signature  again."  Putbus :  "Besides,  200  francs!  He  ought 
not  to  feel  it  so  much.  It  is  not  much  more  than  fifty  thalers. 
But  it  is  just  like  him  ! "  Putbus  then  said  they  intended  to 
submit  the  list  of  subscriptions  to  his  Majesty,  whereupon  the 
Chief  remarked:  "Then  you  will  also  allow  me  to  join."  Put- 
bus afterwards  added  that  Weimar  had  "  not  shown  himself 
over-generous  in  other  matters.  He  established  an  ambulance 
for  his  regiment,  where  a  couple  of  officers  are  now  being  cared 
for.  He  demanded  payment  for  their  keep  from  the  Comman- 
dant, which  of  course  only  the  doctors  are  entitled  to  do."  "  But 
surely  they  have  not  given  it  to  him,"  said  the  Chief.  Putbus  : 
"  Oh,  yes ;  they  have  though,  but  not  without  making  some 
remarks  on  the  subject  that  led  to  a  great  deal  of  bad  language 
on  his  part." 

It  was  then  mentioned  that  a  French  balloon  had  fallen 
down  near  Wetzlar  and  that  Ducrot  was  said  to  be  in  it.  "  I 
suppose  he  will  be  shot  then,"  said  Putbus.  "  No,"  replied  the 
Chief.  "The  common  jail.  Ten  years'  penal  servitude.  If  he 
is  brought  before  a  court-martial  nothing  will  happen  to  him. 
But  a  Council  of  Honour  would  certainly  condemn  him.  So  I 
have  been  told  by  officers." 

"  Any  other  news  on  military  matters  }  "  asked  Putbus. 

"  Perhaps  at  the  General  Staff,"  replied  the  Minister,  "but 
we  know  nothing  here.  We  only  get  such  information  as  can 
be  obtained  by  dint  of  begging,  and  that  is  little  enough." 

Later  on  it  was  stated  that  the  Government  of  National 
Defence  was  thinking  of  contracting  a  new  loan.  Turning  to 
me,  the  Minister  said :  "  It  may  be  useful  to  call  attention  in 
the  press  to  the  danger  investors  run  in  lending  money  to  this 
Government.  It  would  be  well  to  say  that  the  loans  made  to 
the  present  Government  might  possibly  not  be  recognised  by 
that  with  which  we  concluded  peace,  and  that  we  might  even 
make  that  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  peace.  That  should  be 
sent  to  the  English  and  Belgian  press  in  particular." 

Lowinsohn  mentioned  to  me  in  the  evening  that  a  Conserva- 
tive of  high  position,  from  whom  he  sometimes  obtained  in- 
formation, had  said  to  him  that  his  friends  were  an.xious  to 
know  what  the  King  was  going  to  say  to  the  deputation  from 


1 870]  A   WARNING   TO   INVESTORS  299 

the  Reichstag.  It  was  understood  that  he  was  not  pleased  at 
their  coming,  as  only  the  first  Reichstag  which  would  represent 
all  Germany,  and  not  the  North  German  Reichstag,  could 
tender  him  the  imperial  crown.  (Doubtless  the  King  is  think- 
ing less  of  the  Reichstag,  which  cannot  proffer  him  the  impe- 
rial dignity  independently,  but  only  in  concert  with  the  Princes 
in  the  name  of  the  whole  people,  than  of  the  Princes  them- 
selves, all  of  whom  will  not  as  yet  have  replied  to  the  proposal 
of  the  King  of  Bavaria.)  Furthermore,  this  Conservative  of 
high  position  would  prefer  to  see  the  King  become  Emperor  of 
Prussia.  (A  matter  of  taste.)  Under  the  other  arrangement 
Prussia  will  be  lost  in  Germany,  and  that  arouses  scruples  in 
his  mind.  Lowinsohn  also  reported  that  the  Crown  Prince  is 
very  indignant  at  certain  correspondents  who  compared  Cha- 
teaudun  to  Pompeii  and  drew  lively  pictures  of  the  devastation 
of  the  country  owing  to  the  war.  I  suggested  to  Lowinsohn 
that  he  should  deal  with  the  subject  of  the  new  French  loan 
and  that  of  "  Chaudordy  and  Garibaldi's  ear-clippers "  in  the 
IncUpcndance  Beige,  with  which  he  is  connected.  He  promised 
to  do  this  to-morrow. 

An  article  for  the  KolniscJic  Zeitimg  on  the  new  French 
loan  was  accordingly  despatched  in  the  following  form  :  — 

"  Yet  another  loan  !  With  wicked  unconcern  the  gentlemen 
who  now  preside  over  the  fortunes  of  France,  and  who  are 
plunging  her  deeper  and  deeper  into  moral  and  material  ruin, 
are  also  trying  to  exploit  foreign  countries.  This  was  to  be 
anticipated  for  some  time  past,  and  we  are  therefore  not  sur- 
prised at  it.  We  would,  however,  call  the  attention  of  the 
financial  world  to  the  very  obvious  dangers  accompanying  the 
advantages  which  will  be  offered  to  them.  We  will  indicate 
them  in  a  few  words,  in  order  to  make  the  matter  clear.  High 
interest  and  a  low  rate  of  issue  may  be  very  tempting.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  Government  which  makes  this  loan  is 
recognised  neither  by  the  whole  of  France  nor  by  a  single 
European  Power.  Moreover,  it  should  be  remembered  that  we 
have  already  stated  our  intention  that  measures  would  be  taken 
to  prevent  the  repayment  of  certain  loans  which  French  munici- 
palities tried  to  raise  for  the  purposes  of  the  war.  We  imagine 
that  is  a  sufficient  hint  that  the  same  principle  might  be  applied 
on  a  larger  scale.     The   French  Government  which  concludes 


300  THE   REICHSTAG   DEPUTATION  [Dec.  17 

peace  with  Prussifi  and  her  allies  (and  that  will  presumably  not 
be  the  present  Government)  will  in  all  probability  be  bound, 
among  other  conditions  of  peace,  not  to  recognise  as  binding 
the  engagements  for  payment  of  interest  and  redemption  of 
loans  made  by  MM.  Gambetta  and  Favre.  The  Government 
referred  to  will  unquestionably  have  the  right  to  do  this,  as 
those  gentlemen,  although  it  is  true  they  speak  in  the  name 
of  France,  have  received  no  mission  and  no  authority  from  the 
country.     People  should  therefore  be  on  their  guard." 

Wollmann  came  up  to  me  after  10  o'clock,  and  said  that  the 
deputation  from  the  Reichstag  had  arrived.  Their  chairman, 
Simson,  was  now  with  the  Chief,  who  would  doubtless  inform 
him  of  the  King's  disinclination  to  receive  them  before  all  the 
Princes  had  sent  letters  declaring  their  approval.  These  letters 
would  go  first  to  the  King  of  Bavaria,  who  would  afterwards 
send  them  to  our  King.  All  the  Princes  had  already  tele- 
graphed their  approval  —  only  Lippe  still  appeared  to  enter- 
tain scruples.  Probably  in  consequence  of  this  postponement 
it  will  be  necessary  for  a  few  members  of  the  deputation  to 
fall  ill. 

Saturday,  December  \jtJi.  —  In  the  course  of  the  forenoon 
I  wrote  a  second  paragraph  on  the  new  French  loan. 

In  the  afternoon  wrote  another  article  on  the  ever-increas- 
ing instances  of  French  officers  breaking  their  parole  and 
absconding  from  the  places  where  they  were  interned,  and 
returning  to  PVance  to  take  service  against  us  again.  Over 
fifty  of  these  cases  have  occurred  up  to  the  present.  They 
include  officers  of  all  ranks,  and  even  three  generals  —  namely, 
Ducrot,  Cambriel,  and  Parral.  After  the  battle  of  Sedan  we 
could  have  rendered  the  army  that  was  shut  up  in  that  fortress 
harmless  by  destroying  it.  Humanity,  however,  and  faith  in 
their  pledged  word  induced  us  to  forego  that  measure.  The 
capitulation  was  granted,  and  we  were  justified  in  considering 
that  all  the  officers  had  agreed  to  its  terms  and  were  jirepared 
to  fulfil  the  conditions  which  it  imposed.  If  that  was  not  the 
case,  we  ought  to  have  been  informed  of  the  fact.  We  should 
then  have  treated  those  exceptions  in  an  e.xcei:)tional  way,  that 
is  to  say,  not  accorded  to  the  officers  in  cpiestion  the  same 
treatment  that  was  graiitcd  to  the  f)thers.  In  other  words, 
they  would  not  have  been  allowed  the  liberty  which  they  have 


iSjoJ  TllK   CKOWN    I'KINCE   iVSD   THE    liUMHAKUMENT  30I 

now  abused  in  sucli  a  disgraceful  manner.  It  is  true  that  the 
[;reat  majority  of  the  captive  officers  have  kept  their  word,  and 
one  might  therefore  have  dismissed  the  matter  with  a  shrug 
of  the  shoulders.  But  the  affair  assumes  another  aspect  when 
the  French  Provisional  Government  approves  this  breach  of 
their  pledged  word  by  reappointing  such  officers  to  the  regi- 
ments that  are  opposing  us  in  the  field.  Has  there  been  a 
single  case  in  which  one  of  these  deserters  was  refused  read- 
mission  to  the  ranks  of  the  French  army  .-*  Or  have  any 
French  officers  protested  against  the  readmission  of  such  com- 
rades into  their  corps .''  It  is,  therefore,  not  the  Government 
alone,  but  also  the  officers  of  France,  who  consider  this  dis- 
graceful conduct  to  be  correct.  The  consequence,  however, 
will  be  that  the  German  Governments  will  feel  bound  in  duty 
to  consider  whether  the  alleviation  of  their  imprisonment 
hitherto  accorded  to  French  officers  is  consistent  with  the  in- 
terests of  Germany.  And  further,  we  must  ask  ourselves  the 
question  whether  we  shall  be  justified  in  placing  confidence  in 
any  of  the  promises  of  the  present  French  Government  when 
it  wants  to  treat  with  Germany,  without  material  guarantees 
and  pledges. 

We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  Herr  Arnim-Krochlendorff,  a 
brother-in-law  of  the  Chief,  a  gentleman  of  energetic  aspect,  and 
apparently  a  little  over  fifty.  The  Minister  was  in  very  good 
humour,  but  the  conversation  this  time  was  not  particularly 
interesting.  It  chiefly  turned  upon  the  bombardment,  and  the 
attitude  assumed  towards  that  question  by  a  certain  party  at 
headquarters.  Arnim  related  that  when  Gravenitz  spoke  to  the 
Crown  Prince  on  the  matter,  the  latter  exclaimed  :  "  Impossible  ! 
nothing  to  be  done;  it  would  be  to  no  purpose,"  and  when 
Gravenitz  ventured  to  argue  the  point,  the  Prince  declared  : 
"  Well,  then,  if  you  know  better,  do  it!  Bombard  it  yourself  !  " 
To  which  Gravenitz  replied :  "  Your  Royal  Highness,  I  can 
only  fire  ayiv/  dc  joic  {ich  kann  imr  Victoria  schiesscny  The 
Chief  remarked :  "  That  sounds  very  equivocal.  The  Crown 
Prince  told  me  the  same  thing,  viz.,  if  I  thought  the  bombard- 
ment would  be  successful,  I  had  better  take  over  the  command. 
I  replied  that  I  should  hke  to  very  much  —  for  twenty-four 
hours,  but  not  longer."  He  then  added  in  French,  doubtless  on 
account  of  the  servants :  "  For  I  do  not  understand  anything 


302  THE   REICHSTAG'S   ADDRESS  TO  THE  KING  [Dec.  19 

about  it,  although  I  believe  I  know  as  much  as  he  docs,  for  he 
has  no  great  knowledge  of  these  matters." 

Sunday,  December  i^th.  — At  2  o'clock  the  Chief  drove  off 
to  the  Prefecture  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  the  deputation 
of  the  Reichstag  to  the  King.  The  Princes  residing  in  Ver- 
sailles were  in  attendance  upon  his  Majesty.  After  2  o'clock 
the  King,  accompanied  by  the  Heir  Apparent  and  Princes 
Charles  and  Adalbert,  entered  the  reception  room  where  the 
other  Princes,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation,  and  the 
Generals  grouped  themselves  around  him.  Among  those  present 
were  the  Grand  Dukes  of  Baden,  Oldenburg,  and  Weimar,  the 
Dukes  of  Coburg  and  Mciningen,  the  three  Hereditary  Grand 
Dukes,  Prince  William  of  Wiirtemberg,  and  a  number  of  other 
princely  personages.  Simson  delivered  his  address  to  the  King, 
who  answered  very  much  in  the  sense  that  had  been  anticipated. 
A  dinner  of  eighty  covers,  which  was  given  at  5  o'clock,  brought 
the  ceremony  to  a  close. 

On  our  way  back  from  the  park  Wollmann  told  me  that  the 
Chief  had  recently  written  to  the  King  requesting  to  be  per- 
mitted to  take  part  in  the  councils  of  war.  The  answer,  how- 
ever, was  that  he  had  always  been  called  to  join  in  councils 
of  a  political  nature,  as  in  1866,  that  a  similar  course  would 
also  be  followed  in  future,  and  that  he  ought  to  be  satisfied 
with  that.  (This  story  is  probably  not  quite  correct,  for  Woll- 
mann is  incapable  of  being  absolutely  accurate.) 

Monday,  December  19///.  —  I  again  wrote  calling  attention 
to  the  international  revolution  which  arrays  its  guerilla  bands 
and  heroes  of  the  barricades  against  us.  The  article  was  to  the 
following  effect  :  We  understood  at  first  that  we  were  only 
fighting  with  Prance,  and  that  was  actually  the  case  up  to 
Sedan.  After  the  4th  of  September  another  power  rose  up 
against  us,  namely  the  universal  Republic,  an  international  asso- 
ciation of  cosmopolitan  enthusiasts  who  dream  of  the  United 
States  of  Europe,  &c. 

In  the  afternoon  I  took  a  walk  in  the  park,  in  the  course  of 
which  I  twice  met  the  Chief  driving  with  Simson,  the  President 
of  the  Reichstag.  The  Minister  was  invited  to  dine  with  the 
Crown  Prince  at  7  o'clock,  but  first  joined  our  table  for  half 
an  hour.  He  spoke  of  his  drive  with  Simson:  "The  last  time 
he  was  here  was  after  the  Julv  Revolution  in  i.'^jO.      I  thought 


iSyoj  Till-:  i:ms  DKSi'ATcn  303 

he  would  be  interested  in  the  park  and  the  beautiful  views,  but 
he  showed  no  sign  of  it.  It  would  appear  that  he  has  no  feel- 
ing for  landscape  beauty.  There  are  many  people  of  that  kind. 
So  far  as  I  am  aware,  there  are  no  Jewish  landscape  paint- 
ers, indeed  no  Jewish  painters  at  all."  Some  one  mentioned 
the  names  of  Meyerheim  and  Bendemann.  "  Yes,"  the  Chief 
replied,  "  Meyerheim  :  but  Bendemann  had  only  Jewish  grand- 
parents. There  are  plenty  of  Jewish  composers  —  Mendels- 
sohn, Halevy  —  but  painters!  It  is  true  that  the  Jew  paints, 
but  only  when  he  is  not  obliged  to  earn  his  bread  thereby." 

Abekcn  alluded  to  the  sermon  w^hich  Rogge  preached  yester- 
day in  the  palace  church,  and  said  that  he  had  made  too  much 
of  the  Reichstag  deputation.  He  then  added  some  slighting 
remarks  about  the  Reichstag  in  general.  The  Chief  replied : 
"  I  am  not  at  all  of  that  opinion  —  not  in  the  least.  They  have 
just  voted  us  another  hundred  millions,  and  in  spite  of  their 
doctrinaire  views  they  have  adopted  the  Versailles  treaties, 
which  must  have  cost  many  of  them  a  hard  struggle.  We 
ought  to  place  that,  at  least,  to  their  credit." 

Abeken  then  talked  about  the  events  at  Ems  which  preceded 
the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  related  that  on  one  occasion,  after 
a  certain  despatch  had  been  sent  off,  the  King  said,  "Well, 
he  "  (Bismarck)  "  will  be  satisfied  with  us  now  !  "  And  Abeken 
added,  "I  believe  you  were."  "Well,"  replied  the  Chancellor, 
laughing,  "you  may  easily  be  mistaken.  That  is  to  say,  I 
was  quite  satisfied  with  you.  But  not  quite  as  much  with  our 
Most  Gracious,  or  rather  not  at  all.  He  ought  to  have  acted 
in  a  more  dignified  way  —  and  more  resolutely."  "I  remem- 
ber," he  continued,  "how  I  received  the  news  at  Varzin.  I  had 
gone  out,  and  on  my  return  the  first  telegram  had  been  deliv- 
ered. As  I  started  on  my  journey  I  had  to  pass  our  pastor's 
house  at  Wussow.  He  was  standing  at  his  gate  and  saluted 
me.  I  said  nothing,  but  made  a  thrust  in  the  air  —  thus"  (as 
if  he  were  making  a  thrust  with  a  sword).  "He  understood 
me,  and  I  drove  on."  The  Minister  then  gave  some  particulars 
of  the  wavering  and  hesitation  that  w^ent  on  up  to  a  certain  inci- 
dent, which  altered  the  complexion  of  things  and  was  followed 
by  the  declaration  of  war.  "  I  expected  to  find  another  tele- 
gram in  Berlin  answering  mine,  but  it  had  not  arrived.  In  the 
meantime  I  invited  IMoItke  and  Roon  to  dine  with  me  that  even- 


304  EDITING  THE   KING'S  TELEGRAM  [Dec.  20 

ing,  and  to  talk  over  the  situation,  which  seemed  to  mc  to  be 
growing  more  and  more  unsatisfactory.  Whilst  we  were  din- 
ing, another  long  telegram  was  brought  in.  As  I  read  it  to 
them  —  it  must  have  been  about  two  hundred  words  —  they 
were  both  actually  terrified,  and  Moltke's  whole  being  suddenly 
changed.  He  seemed  to  be  quite  old  and  infirm.  It  looked  as 
if  our  Most  Gracious  might  knuckle  under  after  all.  I  asked 
him  (Moltke)  if,  as  things  stood,  we  might  hope  to  be  victorious. 
On  his  replying  in  the  afifirmative,  I  said,  '  Wait  a  minute ! ' 
and  seating  myself  at  a  small  table  I  boiled  down  those  two 
hundred  words  to  about  twenty,  but  without  otherwise  altering 
or  adding  anything.  It  was  Abeken's  telegram,  yet  something 
different  —  shorter,  more  determined,  less  dubious.  I  then 
handed  it  over  to  them,  and  asked,  '  Well,  how  does  that  do 
now  ? '  '  Yes,'  they  said,  '  it  will  do  in  that  form.'  And  Moltke 
immediately  became  quite  young  and  fresh  again.  He  had 
got  his  war,  his  trade.  And  the  thing  really  succeeded.  The 
French  were  fearfully  angry  at  the  condensed  telegram  as  it 
ajDjjcared  in  the  newspapers,  and  a  couple  of  days  later  they 
declared  war  against  us." 

The  conversation  then  wandered  back  to  Pomerania,  and  if 
I  am  not  mistaken  to  Varzin,  where  the  Chief  had,  he  said, 
taken  much  interest  in  a  Piedmontese  who  had  remained  be- 
hind after  the  great  P>ench  wars.  This  man  had  raised  him- 
self to  a  j)osition  of  consequence,  and  although  originally  a 
Catholic,  had  actually  become  a  vestryman.  The  Minister 
mentioned  other  people  who  had  settled  and  prospered  in 
places  where  they  had  been  accidentally  left  behind.  There 
were  also  Italians  taken  as  prisoners  of  war  to  a  district  in 
Further  Pomerania,  where  they  remained  and  founded  fami- 
lies whose  marked  features  still  distinguish  them  from  their 
neighbours. 

The  Minister  did  not  return  from  the  Crown  Prince's  until 
past  ten  o'clock,  and  we  then  heard  that  the  Crown  Prince  was 
coming  to  dine  with  us  on  the  following  evening. 

Tuesday,  Decct)ibir  20th.  —  On  the  instructions  of  the  Chief 
I  wrote  two  articles  for  circulation  in  Germany. 

The  first  was  as  follows:  "  W^c  have  already  found  it  neces- 
sary on  several  occasions  tf)  correct  a  misunderstanding  or  an 
intentional  garbling  of  the  words  addressed  b\-    Kin:;'  William 


1S70J  M.   D'lIAUSSCJNVILI.H'S   rAMPIILET  305 

to  the  French  people  on  the  nth  of  August  last.  We  arc  now 
once  more  confronted  with  the  same  attempt  to  falsify  history, 
and  to  our  surprise  in  a  publication  by  an  otherwise  respect- 
able French  historian.  In  a  pamphlet  entitled  La  France  et 
la  Prussc  devant  I'linrope,  M.  d'Haussonville  puts  forward  an 
assertion  which  docs  little  credit  to  his  love  of  truth,  or  let  us 
say  his  scientific  accuracy.  The  whole  pamphlet  is  shallow  and 
superficial.  It  is  full  of  exaggerations  and  errors,  and  of  asser- 
tions that  have  no  more  value  than  mere  baseless  rumours.  Of 
the  gross  blunders  of  the  writer,  who  is  obviously  blinded  by 
patriotic  passion,  we  will  only  mention  that,  according  to  him, 
King  William  was  on  the  throne  during  the  Crimean  War.  But 
apart  from  this  and  other  mistakes,  we  have  here  only  to  deal 
with  his  attempt  to  garble  the  proclamation  issued  to  the  French 
in  August  last,  which,  it  may  be  observed,  was  written  in  French 
as  well  as  in  German,  so  that  a  misunderstanding  would  appear 
to  be  out  of  the  question.  According  to  M.  d'Haussonville  the 
King  said:  'I  am  only  waging  war  against  the  Emperor  and 
not  at  all  against  France.'  {/c  nc  fais  la  guerre  qu'd  V Empe- 
rcur,  ct  nnlleuiciit  a  la  France^  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
the  document  in  question  says:  'The  German  nation,  which 
desired  and  still  desires  to  live  in  peace  with  France,  having 
been  attacked  at  sea  and  on  land  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  I 
have  taken  the  command  of  the  German  armies  for  the  purpose 
of  repelling  this  aggression.  Owing  to  the  course  taken  by  the 
military  operations,  I  have  been  led  to  cross  the  French  frontier. 
I  wage  war  against  the  soldiers  and  not  against  the  citizens  of 
France.'  {L'onpereur  Napoleoji  ayaut  attaqii^  par  ten'e  et  par 
vicr  la  nation  allcniande,  qui  dcsirait  et  desire  encore  vivre  en 
paix  avcc  la  pcuple  franqais,  j'ai  pris  le  conwiandenient  des 
aruiccs  allcniandcs  pour  repousser  V agression,  et  fai  eti!  amcni 
par  Ics  evcnements  militaires  a  passer  les  frontib'es  de  la  France. 
Jc  fais  la  guerre  anx  soldats  et  non  a?ix  citoycns  frangais.)  The 
next  sentence  excludes  all  possibility  of  mistake  as  to  the  mean- 
ing of  the  foregoing  statement :  '  They  (the  French  citizens) 
will  accordingly  continue  to  enjoy  complete  security  of  person 
and  property  so  long  as  they  themselves  do  not  deprive  me  of 
the  right  to  accord  them  my  protection  by  acts  of  hostility 
against  the  German  troops.'  {Ccux-ci  continucront,  par  conse- 
quent, a  jouir  d'ltne  coinplHe  sccuritt! pour  leiir  personnes  et  leur 

VOL.   I.  — X 


306  TROCIIU   AND   THE  ORLEANS  [Dtc.  20 

bicns,  anssi  longtcmps  qiiils  nc  mc  priveront  eiix-ntenics  par  des 
entftpriscs  Jwstiles  centre  Ics  troupes  allemandes  dn  droit  de  lenr 
accordcr  ma  protection.)  There  is,  in  our  opinion,  a  very  obvi- 
ous difference  between  d'Haussonville's  quotation  and  the  origi- 
nal proclamation,  and  no  obscurity  can  possibly  be  discovered 
in  the  latter  to  excuse  a  mistake." 

The  second  item  ran  thus  :  "  The  Delegation  from  the  Gov- 
ernment of  National  Defence,  which  is  at  present  in  Bordeaux, 
has  satisfied  itself  that  further  resistance  to  the  German  forces 
is  useless,  and  it  would,  with  the  approval  even  of  M.  Gambetta, 
be  prepared  to  conclude  peace  on  the  basis  of  the  demands  put 
forward  by  Germany.  It  is  understood,  however,  that  General 
Trochu  has  decided  to  continue  the  war.  The  Delegation  en- 
tered into  an  engagement  from  Tours  with  General  Trochu  not 
to  negotiate  for  peace  without  his  consent.  According  to  other 
reports,  General  Trochu  has  had  provisions  for  several  months 
stored  in  the  fortress  of  Mont  Valerien,  so  that  he  may  fall 
back  upon  that  position  after  Paris  has  had  to  capitulate  with  a 
sufficient  force  to  exercise  influence  upon  the  fate  of  France 
after  the  conclusion  of  peace.  His  object,  it  is  believed,  is  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  Orleans  family,  of  which  General 
Trochu  is  understood  to  be  an  adherent." 

On  my  taking  these  paragraphs  into  the  office  to  have  them 
sent  off,  Keudell  told  me  the  Chief  had  agreed  that  henceforth 
all  State  papers  received  and  despatched  should  be  shown  to 
me  if  I  asked  for  them. 

The  Crown  Prince  and  his  aide-de-camp  arrived  shortly 
after  six  o'clock.  The  former  had  on  his  shoulder-straps  the 
badges  of  his  new  military  rank  as  field-marshal.  He  sat  at 
the  head  of  the  table,  with  the  Chief  on  his  right  and  Abeken 
on  his  left.  After  the  soup  the  conversation  first  turned  on 
the  subject  which  I  had  this  morning  worked  up  for  the  press, 
namely,  that  according  to  a  communication  from  Israel,  the 
secretary  of  Laurier,  who  acts  as  agent  for  the  Provisional 
Government  in  London,  Gambetta  no  longer  believed  in  the 
possibility  of  successful  resistance,  and  was  disposed  to  con- 
clude peace  on  the  basis  of  our  demands.  Trochu  was  the 
only  member  of  the  Government  who  wished  to  continue  the 
struggle,  but  on  his  undertaking  the  defence  of  Paris,  the  others 
had  bound  themselves  to  act  in  concert  with  him  in  this  resj)ccl. 


1870J  THE   KINCJ   OK   IJAVARIA  307 

The  Chancellor  observed  :  "  He  is  understood  to  have  had 
Mont  Valerien  provisioned  for  two  months,  so  that  he  may  fall 
back  upon  that  position  with  the  regular  troops  when  it  becomes 
necessary  to  surrender  the  city  —  probably  in  order  to  influence 
the  conclusion  of  peace."  He  then  continued  :  "  Indeed,  I  be- 
lieve that  France  will  break  up  into  several  pieces  —  the  coun- 
try is  already  split  up  into  parties.  There  are  great  differences 
of  opinion  between  the  different  districts.  Legitimists  in  Brit- 
tany, Red  Republicans  in  the  south,  and  Moderate  Republicans 
elsewhere,  while  the  regular  army  is  still  for  the  Emperor,  or  at 
least  the  majority  of  the  officers  are.  It  is  possible  that  each 
section  will  follow  its  own  convictions,  one  being  Republican, 
another  Bourbon,  and  a  third  Orleanist,  according  to  the  party 
that  happens  to  have  the  most  adherents,  and  then  Napoleon's 
people  —  tetrarchies  of  Judea,  Galilee,  &c." 

The  Crown  Prince  said  it  was  believed  that  Paris  must  have 
a  subterranean  communication  with  the  outer  world.  The 
Chief  thought  so  too,  and  added :  "  But  they  cannot  get  pro- 
visions in  that  way,  although,  of  course,  they  can  receive  news. 
I  have  been  thinking  whether  it  might  not  be  possible  to  flood 
the  catacombs  from  the  Seine,  and  thus  inundate  the  lower 
parts  of  the  city.  Of  course  the  catacombs  go  under  the 
Seine." 

The  Chief  then  said  that  if  Paris  could  be  taken  now  it 
would  produce  a  good  effect  upon  public  opinion  in  Bavaria, 
whence  the  reports  were  again  unsatisfactory.  Bray  was  not 
to  be  trusted,  had  not  the  interests  of  Germany  at  heart,  in- 
clined to  the  Ultramontanes,  had  a  Neapolitan  wife,  felt  hap- 
piest in  his  memories  of  Vienna,  where  he  lived  for  a  long  time, 
and  seemed  disposed  to  tack  about  again.  "  The  King  is,  after 
all,  the  best  of  them  all  in  the  upper  circles,"  said  the  Chan- 
cellor, "  but  he  seems  to  be  in  bad  health  and  eccentric,  and 
nobody  knows  what  may  yet  happen."  "  Yes,  indeed,"  said  the 
Crown  Prince.  "  How  bright  and  handsome  he  was  formerly 
—  a  little  too  slight,  but  otherwise  the  very  ideal  of  a  young 
man.  Now  his  complexion  is  yellow,  and  he  looks  old.  I  was 
quite  shocked  when  I  saw  him."  "The  last  time  I  saw  him," 
said  the  Chancellor,  "was  at  his  mother's  at  Nymphenburg,  in 
1863,  when  the  Congress  of  Princes  was  being  held.  Even  at 
that  time  he  had  a  strange  look  in  his  eyes.     I  remember  that. 


308  A   COMPLIMENT   FOR   THE  DIPLOMATS!  [Dec.  20 

when  dining,  he  on  one  occasion  drank  no  wine,  and  on  another 
took  eight  or  ten  glasses  —  not  at  intervals,  but  hastily,  one 
glass  after  another,  at  one  draught,  so  that  the  servant  scarcely 
liked  to  keep  on  filling  his  glass." 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  Bavarian  Prince 
Charles,  who  was  said  to  be  strongly  anti-Prussian,  but  too  old 
and  feeble  to  be  very  dangerous  to  the  cause  of  German  unity. 
Some  one  remarked :  "  Nature  has  very  little  to  do  with  him  as 
it  is."  "That  reminds  me  of  old  Count  Adlerberg,"  said  the 
Minister,  "who  was  also  mostly  artificial  —  hair,  teeth,  calves, 
and  one  eye.  When  he  wanted  to  get  up  in  the  morning  all  his 
best  parts  lay  on  chairs  and  tables  near  the  bed.  You  remem- 
ber the  newly  married  man  in  the  Fliegcndc  Blatter  who 
watched  his  bride  take  herself  to  pieces,  lay  her  hair  on  the 
toilet  table,  her  teeth  on  the  chimney-piece,  and  other  fragments 
elsewhere,  and  then  exclaimed,  '  But  what  remains  for  me .'' '  " 
Moreover,  Adlerberg,  he  went  on  to  say,  was  a  terrible  bore,  and 
it  was  owing  to  him  that  Countess  liismarck  once  fainted  at  a 
diplomatic  dinner  where  she  was  seated  between  him  and  Stieg- 
litz.  "  She  always  faints  when  she  is  exceptionally  bored,  and 
for  that  reason  I  never  take  her  with  mc  to  diplomatic  dinners." 
"That  is  a  pretty  compliment  for  the  diplomats,"  observed  the 
Crown  Prince. 

The  Chief  then  related  that  one  evening,  not  long  ago,  the 
sentry  on  guard  at  the  Crown  Prince's  quarters  did  not  want  to 
let  him  go  in,  and  only  agreed  to  do  so  on  his  addressing  him  in 
Polish.  "  A  few  days  ago  I  also  tried  to  talk  Polish  with  the 
soldiers  in  the  hospital,  and  they  brightened  up  wonderfully  on 
hearing  a  gentleman  speak  their  mother  tongue.  It  is  a  pity 
that  my  vocabulary  was  exhausted.  It  would,  perhaps,  be  a 
good  thing  if  their  commander-in-chief  could  speak  to  them." 
"There  you  are,  l^ismarck,  coming  back  to  the  old  story,"  said 
the  Crown  Prince,  smiling.  "  No,  I  don't  like  Polish  and  I 
won't  learn  it.  I  do  not  like  the  people."  "  But,  your  Royal 
Highness,  they  arc,  after  all,  good  soldiers  and  honest  fellows 
when  they  have  been  taught  to  wash  themselves  and  not  to  pil- 
fer." The  Crown  I'rince  :  "Yes,  but  when  they  cast  off  the 
soldier's  tunic  they  arc  just  wh;it  thev  were  before,  and  at  bot- 
tom they  are  and  still  remain  hosliji-  to  us."  The  Chief:  "As 
to  their  hostility,  that    only  apijlies    to   the    nobles    and    their 


1870 1  THK   CROWN    rUINCK   UNCONVINCED  3O9 

labourers,  and  all  that  class.  A  noble,  who  has  nothing  him- 
self, feeds  a  crowd  of  people,  servants  of  all  sorts,  who  also 
belong  to  the  minor  nobility,  although  they  act  as  his  domestics, 
overseers,  and  clerks.  These  stand  by  him  when  he  rises  in 
rebellion,  and  also  the  Komorniks,  or  day  labourers.  .  .  .  The 
independent  peasantry  does  not  join  them,  however,  even  when 
egged  on  by  the  priests,  who  are  always  against  us.  We  have 
seen  that  in  Posen,  when  the  Polish  regiments  had  to  be  re- 
moved merely  because  they  were  too  cruel  to  their  own  fellow- 
countrymen.  ...  I  remember  at  our  place  in  Pomerania  there 
was  a  market,  attended,  on  one  occasion,  by  a  number  of  Kas- 
subes  (Pomeranian  Poles).  A  quarrel  broke  out  between  one  of 
them  and  a  German,  who  refused  to  sell  him  a  cow  because  he 
was  a  Pole.  The  Kassube  was  mortally  offended,  and  shouted 
out:  'You  say  I'm  a  Polack.  No,  I'm  just  as  much  a  Prussack 
as  yourself ; '  and  then,  as  other  Germans  and  Poles  joined  in, 
it  soon  developed  into  a  beautiful  free  fight." 

The  Chief  then  added  that  the  Great  Elector  spoke  Polish 
as  well  as  German,  and  that  his  successors  also  understood  that 
language.  Frederick  the  Great  was  the  first  who  did  not  learn 
it,  but  then  he  also  spoke  better  French  than  German.  "  That 
may  be,"  said  the  Crown  Prince,  "but  I  am  not  going  to  learn 
Polish.  I  do  not  like  it.  They  must  learn  German."  With 
this  remark  the  subject  was  allowed  to  drop. 

At  dessert  the  Crown  Prince,  after  asking  if  he  might  smoke 
a  pipe,  pulled  out  a  short  one  with  a  porcelain  bowl,  on  which 
an  eagle  was  painted,  while  the  rest  of  us  lit  our  cigars. 

After  dinner  the  Crowm  Prince  and  the  Minister  retired  with 
the  Councillors  to  the  drawing-room,  where  they  took  coffee. 
Later  on  we  were  all  sent  for,  and  formally  presented  to  the 
future  Emperor  by  the  Chief.  We  had  to  wait  for  about  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  while  the  Chancellor  was  deep  in  conversa- 
tion with  the  Crown  Prince.  His  august  guest  stood  in  the 
corner  near  one  of  the  windows.  The  Chief  spoke  to  him  in  a 
low  tone,  with  his  eyes  mostly  cast  down,  while  the  Crown 
Prince  listened  with  a  serious  and  almost  sullen  look. 

After  the  presentation  I  returned  to  the  bureau,  where  I 
read  the  diplomatic  reports  and  drafts  of  the  last  few  days, 
amongst  others  the  draft  of  the  King's  reply  to  the  Reichstag 
deputation.     This  had  been  prepared  by  Abeken,  and  greatly 


310  BISMARCK'S   GREAT-GRANDFATHER  [Dec.  21 

altered  by  the  Chief.  Then  an  instruction  from  the  Minister  to 
the  Foreign  Office  to  the  effect  that  if  the  Provinzial  Corre- 
spo7idcnz  should  again  contain  a  commendation  of  Gambetta's 
energy  or  anything  of  that  kind,  every  possible  means  should 
be  immediately  employed  to  prevent  the  publication.  Also  a 
report  from  Prince  Reuss  to  the  effect  that  Gortchakoff  had 
replied  in  a  negative  sense  to  a  sentimental  communication  of 
Gabriac's,  adding  that  all  the  Russian  Cabinet  could  do  for  the 
French  at  present  was  to  act  as  letter-carrier  in  conveying  their 
wishes  to  the  Prussian  Government. 

At  tea  Hatzfeld  told  me  had  been  trying  to  decipher  a 
Dutch  report  from  Van  Zuylen,  which  had  come  out  with  Wash- 
burne's  budget,  and  had  succeeded,  though  there  were  still  a 
few  doubtful  points.  He  then  showed  it  to  me,  and  together 
we  contrived  to  puzzle  out  some  more  of  it.  The  despatch 
seems  to  be  based  throughout  on  good  information,  and  to  give 
a  faithful  account  of  the  situation. 

At  10.30  P.M.  summoned  to  the  Chief,  who  wants  the 
Moniteur  to  mention  Gambetta's  inclination  to  forego  further 
resistance  and  Trochu's  plan  respecting  Mont  Valcrien. 

Wednesday,  December  2\st.  —  At  dinner  the  Chief  spoke  of 
his  great-grandfather,  who,  if  I  rightly  understood  him,  fell  at 
Czaslau.  "  The  old  people  at  our  place  often  described  him  to 
my  father.  He  was  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord,  and  a 
great  toper.  Once  in  a  single  year  he  shot  154  red  deer,  a  feat 
which  Prince  Frederick  Charles  will  scarcely  emulate,  although 
the  Duke  of  Dessau  might.  I  remember  being  told  that  when 
he  was  stationed  at  Gollnow,  the  officers  messed  together,  the 
Colonel  presiding  over  the  kitchen.  It  was  the  custom  there 
for  five  or  si.x  dragoons  to  march  in  and  fire  a  volley  from  their 
carbines  at  each  toast.  Altogether  they  had  very  curious  cus- 
toms. For  instance,  instead  of  a  plank  bed  they  had  as  a 
punishment  a  so-called  wooden  donkey  with  sharp  edges,  upon 
which  the  men  who  had  been  guilty  of  any  breach  of  discipline 
were  obliged  to  sit,  often  for  a  couple  of  hours  —  a  very  painful 
punishment.  On  the  birthday  of  the  Colonel  or  of  other  officers, 
the  soldiers  always  carried  this  donkey  to  the  bridge  and  threw 
it  into  the  river.  But  a  new  one  was  invariably  provided.  The 
Burgomaster's  wife  told  my  father  that  it  mu.st  have  been 
renewed  a  hundred  times.     I  have  a  portrait  of  this  great-grand- 


iSjo]  A    PRUSSIAN    HINT  TO   ST.   rETEKSUURO  311 

father  in  Berlin.  I  am  the  very  ima<;e  of  him,  that  is  to  say,  I  was 
when  I  was  yoiini(  —  when  I  saw  myself  in  the  looking-glass." 

The  Minister  then  related  that  it  was  owing  to  a  relative  of 
his,  Finanzrath  Kerl,  that  he  was  sent  to  Gottingen  University. 
He  was  consigned  to  Professor  Hausmann,  and  was  to  study 
mineralogy.  "  They  were  thinking,  no  doubt,  of  Leopold  von 
Buch,  and  fancied  it  would  be  fine  for  me  to  go  through  the 
world  like  him,  hammer  in  hand,  chipping  pieces  off  the  rocks. 
Things,  however,  turned  out  differently.  It  would  have  been 
better  if  I  had  been  sent  to  Bonn,  where  I  should  have  met 
countrymen  of  my  own.  At  Gottingen  I  had  no  one  from 
my  own  part  of  the  country,  and  so  I  met  none  of  my  Univer- 
sity acquaintances  again  until  I  saw  a  few  of  them  in  the 
Reichstag." 

Abeken  said  that  after  a  brisk  fire  from  the  forts  this  morn- 
ing there  had  been  a  sortie  of  the  Paris  garrison,  which  was 
principally  directed  against  the  positions  occupied  by  the  Guards. 
It  was,  however,  scarcely  more  than  an  artillery  engagement,  as 
the  attack  was  known  beforehand  and  preparations  had  been 
made  to  meet  it.  Hatzfeld  said  he  should  like  to  know  how 
they  were  able  to  discover  that  a  sortie  was  going  to  take  place. 
It  was  suggested  that  in  the  open  country  movements  of  trans- 
ports and  guns  could  not  escape  detection,  as  large  masses  of 
troops  could  not  be  concentrated  on  the  point  of  attack  in  one 
night.  "That  was  quite  true,"  observed  the  Chief,  with  a  laugh; 
"  but  often  a  hundred  louis  d'ors  also  form  an  important  part  of 
this  military  prescience." 

After  dinner  I  read  drafts  and  despatches,  from  which  I 
ascertained,  amongst  other  things,  that  as  early  as  the  ist  of 
September,  Prussia  had  intimated  in  St.  Petersburg  that  she 
would  put  no  difficulties  in  the  way  of  such  action  in  the  matter 
of  the  Black  Sea  as  has  now  been  taken. 

Later  on  I  arranged  that  Lowinsohn  should  deal  with  the 
Gambetta-Trochu  question  in  the  Indepcndance  Beige.  Also 
informed  him  that  Delbriick  would  be  here  again  on  the 
28th  inst. 

Thursday,  December  22nd.  —  This  time  there  were  no  stran- 
gers at  dinner.  The  Chief  was  in  excellent  spirits,  but  the  con- 
versation was  of  no  special  importance. 

A  reference  was  made  to  yesterday's  sortie,  and  the  Chief 


312  CARDINAL  ANTONELLI  [Dec.  22 

remarked :  "The  French  came  out  yesterday  with  three  divisions, 
and  we  had  only  fifteen  companies,  not  even  four  battalions,  and 
yet  we  made  nearly  a  thousand  prisoners.  The  Parisians,  with 
their  attacks  now  here  and  now  there,  remind  me  of  a  French 
dancing  master  conducting  a  quadrille. 

"  Ma  comm6re,  quand  je  danse 
Mon  cotillon,  va-t-il  bien? 
II  va  de  ci,  il  va  de  la, 
Comme  la  queue  de  notre  chat." 

Later  on  the  Chief  remarked :  "  Our  august  master  is  not  at 
all  pleased  at  the  idea  of  Antonelli  at  length  deciding  to  come 
here.  He  is  uneasy  about  it.  I  am  not."  Abeken  said:  "The 
newspapers  express  very  different  opinions  about  Antonelli. 
At  one  time  he  is  described  as  a  man  of  great  intelligence 
and  acumen;  then  again  as  a  sly  intriguer,  and  shortly  after- 
wards as  a  stupid  fellow  and  a  blockhead."  The  Chief  replied : 
"  It  is  not  in  the  press  alone  that  you  meet  with  such  contra- 
dictions. It  is  the  same  with  many  diplomats.  Goltz  and  our 
Harry  (von  Arnim).  We  will  leave  Goltz  out  of  the  question  — 
that  was  different.  But  Harry  —  to-day  this  way  and  to-morrow 
that!  When  I  used  to  read  a  number  of  his  reports  together  at 
Varzin,  I  found  his  opinion  of  people  change  entirely  a  couple 
of  times  every  week,  according  as  he  had  met  with  a  friendly  or 
unfriendly  reception.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  sent  different 
opinions  by  every  post,  and  often  by  the  same  post." 

Afterwards  read  reports  from  Rome,  London,  and  Con- 
stantinople, and  the  replies  sent  to  them.  According  to  Ar- 
nim's  despatch,  Monsignor  Franchi  informed  him  that  the 
Pope  and  Antonelli  wished  to  send  a  mission  to  Versailles  to 
congratulate  the  King  on  his  accession  to  the  imperial  dignity, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  induce  the  French  clergy  to  promote 
the  liberation  of  the  country  from  Gambetta,  and  the  negotia- 
tion of  peace  with  us  on  the  basis  of  a  cession  of  territory.  In 
certain  circumstances  Antonelli  himself  would  undertake  the 
task,  in  which  the  Archbishop  of  Tours  had  failed,  of  securing 
an  acceptable  peace.  In  reply  to  this  communication  Arnim 
was  informed  that  it  was  still  uncertain  whether  Bavaria  would 
agree  to  the  scheme  of  Fmperor  and  Empire.  We  should, 
nevertheless,   carry   it  through.      But,  in   that   case,   its    chief 


1S70]  OVKRIURKS    I'ROM    I'lIE   EMTKESS   EUGKNIE  313 

support  havinj;  been  found  in  public  opinion,  the  (mainly  Ultra- 
montane) elements  of  resistance  would  be  in  still  more  marked 
opposition  to  the  new  Germany.  Bernstorff  reports  that  the 
former  Imperial  Minister,  Duvernois,  had  called  upon  him  at 
Eugenie's  instance  and  suggested  a  cession  of  territory  to  us 
equal  in  extent  to  that  acquired  by  the  Empire  in  Nice  and 
Savoy.  The  Empress  wished  to  issue  a  proclamation.  Per- 
signy  was  of  a  different  opinion,  as  he  considered  the  Empress's 
to  be  impossible.  ]?onnechose,  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  ex- 
pressed a  similar  opinion  to  Manteuffel.  The  reply  sent  to 
Bernstorff  was  that  we  could  not  negotiate  with  the  Empress 
(who,  moreover,  does  not  appear  to  be  reliable  or  politically 
capable),  unless  Persigny  was  in  agreement  with  her,  and  that 
Duvernois'  overture  was  unpractical.  Ali  Pasha  is  prepared 
to  agree  to  the  abolition  of  the  neutrality  of  the  Black  Sea,  but 
demands  in  compensation  the  full  sovereignty  of  the  Porte  over 
the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles.  This  was  telegraphed  by 
us  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  there  agreed  to ;  whereupon  Brunnow 
(the  Russian  Ambassador  in  London)  received  the  necessary 
instructions  in  the  matter. 

Friday,  December  z^rd.  —  It  was  mentioned  at  dinner  that 
General  von  Voigts-Rhetz  was  outside  Tours,  the  inhabitants 
having  offered  so  much  resistance  that  it  was  found  necessary 
to  shell  the  town.  The  Chief  added :  "  He  ought  not  to  have 
stopped  firing  when  they  hoisted  the  white  flag.  I  would  have 
continued  to  shell  them  until  they  sent  out  four  hundred  host- 
ages." He  again  condemned  the  leniency  of  the  officers  tow- 
ards civilians  who  offer  resistance.  Even  notorious  treachery 
was  scarcely  punished  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  so  the  French 
imagined  that  they  could  do  what  they  liked  against  us.  "  Here 
is,  for  instance,  this  Colonel  Krohn,"  he  continued.  "  He  first 
has  a  lawyer  tried  for  aiding  and  abetting  franctireurs,  and 
then,  when  he  sees  him  condemned,  he  sends  in  first  one  and 
then  another  petition  for  mercy,  instead  of  letting  the  man  be 
shot,  and  finally  despatches  the  wife  to  me  with  a  safe  conduct. 
Yet  he  is  generally  supposed  to  be  an  energetic  officer  and  a 
strict  disciplinarian,  but  he  can  hardly  be  quite  right  in  his 
head." 

From  the  discussion  of  this  foolish  leniency  the  conversation 
turned  on  General  von  Unger,  Chief  of  the  Staff  to  the  7th 


3 14  GERMAN  WEAKNESSES  [Dec.  23 

Army  Corps,  who  had  gone  out  of  his  mind,  and  had  to  be  sent 
home.  He  is,  it  seems,  generally  moody  and  silent,  but  occa- 
sionally breaks  out  into  loud  weeping.  "  Yes,"  sighed  the 
Chief,  "  officers  in  that  position  are  terribly  harassed.  Con- 
stantly at  work,  always  responsible,  and  yet  unable  to  get  things 
done,  and  hampered  by  intrigue.  Almost  as  bad  as  a  Minister. 
I  know  that  sort  of  crying  myself.  It  is  over-excitement  of  the 
nerves,  hysterical  weeping.  I,  too,  had  it  at  Nikolsburg  and 
badly.  A  Minister  is  just  as  badly  treated  —  all  sorts  of  wor- 
ries—  an  incessant  plague  of  midges.  Other  things  can  be 
borne,  but  one  must  be  properly  treated.  I  cannot  endure 
shabby  treatment.  If  I  were  not  treated  with  courtesy,  I 
should  be  inclined  to  throw  my  ribbon  of  the  Black  Eagle  into 
the  dust-bin." 

The  Versailles  Moniteiir  having  been  mentioned,  the  Chief 
observed :  "  Last  week  they  published  a  novel  by  Heyse,  the 
scene  of  which  is  laid  in  Meran.  Such  sentimental  twaddle 
is  quite  out  of  place  in  a  paper  published  at  the  cost  of  the 
King,  which  after  all  this  one  is.  The  Versailles  people  do 
not  want  that  either.  They  look  for  political  news  and  military 
intelligence  from  France,  from  England,  or,  if  you  like,  from 
Italy,  but  not  such  namby-pamby  trash.  I  have  also  a  touch 
of  poetry  in  my  nature,  but  the  first  few  sentences  of  that  stuff 
were  enough  for  me."  Abeken,  at  whose  instance  the  novel 
was  published,  stood  up  for  the  editor,  and  said  the  story  had 
been  taken  from  the  Revue  dcs  Deux  Maudes,  an  admittedly 
high-class  periodical.  The  Chief,  however,  stuck  to  his  own 
opinion.  Somebody  remarked  that  the  Mouiteur  was  now 
written  in  better  French.  "It  may  be,"  said  the  Minister,  "but 
that  is  a  minor  point.  However,  we  are  Germans,  and  as  such 
we  always  ask  ourselves,  even  in  the  most  exalted  regions,  if 
we  please  our  neighbours  and  if  what  we  do  is  to  their  satisfac- 
tion. If  they  do  not  understand,  let  them  learn  German.  It 
is  a  matter  of  indifference  whether  a  proclamation  is  written 
in  a  good  French  style  or  not,  so  long  as  it  is  otherwise  adequate 
and  intelligible.  Moreover,  we  cannot  expect  to  be  masters  of 
a  foreign  language.  A  person  who  has  only  used  it  occasionally 
for  some  two  and  a  half  years  cannot  possibly  express  himself 
as  well  as  one  who  has  used  it  for  fifty-four  years."  Stcinmetz's 
proclamation  then  received  some  ironical   praise,  and  a  couple 


1870]  NAPOLEON   III.  315 

of  extraordinary  expressions  were  quoted  from  it.  Lehndorff 
said :  "  It  was  not  first-class  French,  but  it  was,  at  any  rate, 
intelligible."  The  Chief :  "  Yes,  it  is  their  business  to  under- 
stand it.  If  they  cannot,  let  them  find  some  one  to  translate 
it  for  them.  Those  people  who  fancy  themselves  merely  be- 
cause they  speak  good  French  are  of  no  use  to  us.  But  that 
is  our  misfortune.     Whoever  cannot  speak  decent  German  is  a 

made  man,  especially  if  he  can  murder  English.     Old (I 

understood,  Meyendorff)  once  said  to  me :  '  Don't  trust  any 
Englishman  who  speaks  French  with  a  correct  accent.'  I  have 
generally  found  that  true.  But  I  must  make  an  exception  in 
favour  of  Odo  Russell." 

The  name  of  Napoleon  III.  then  came  up.  The  Chief 
regarded  him  as  a  man  of  limited  intelligence.  "  He  is  much 
more  good-natured  and  much  less  acute  than  is  usually  be- 
lieved." "Why,"  interrupted  Lehndorff,  "that  is  just  what 
some  one  said  of  Napoleon  I.  :  '  A  good  honest  fellow,  but  a 
fool.'"  "But  seriously,"  continued  the  Chief,  "whatever  one 
may  think  of  the  coup  cfetat  he  is  really  good-natured,  sensitive, 
even  sentimental,  while  his  intellect  is  not  brilliant  and  his 
knowledge  limited.  He  is  a  specially  poor  hand  at  geography, 
although  he  was  educated  in  Germany,  even  going  to  school 
there,  —  and  he  entertains  all  sorts  of  visionary  ideas.  In  July 
last  he  spent  three  days  shilly-shallying  without  being  able  to 
come  to  a  decision,  and  even  now  he  does  not  know  what  he 
wants.  People  would  not  believe  me  when  I  told  them  so  a 
long  time  ago.  Already  in  1854-55  I  told  the  King,  Napoleon 
has  no  notion  of  what  we  are.  When  I  became  Minister  I  had 
a  conversation  with  him  in  Paris.  He  believed  there  would  cer- 
tainly be  a  rising  in  Berlin  before  long  and  a  revolution  all 
over  the  country,  and  in  a  plebiscite  the  King  would  have  the 
whole  people  against  him.  I  told  him  then  that  our  people  do 
not  throw  up  barricades,  and  that  revolutions  in  Prussia  are 
only  made  by  the  Kings.  If  the  King  could  only  bear  the 
strain  for  three  or  four  years,  he  would  carry  his  point.  Of 
course  the  alienation  of  public  sympathy  was  unpleasant  and 
inconvenient.  But  if  the  King  did  not  grow  tired  and  leave  me 
in  the  lurch,  I  should  not  fall.  If  an  appeal  were  made  to 
the  population,  and  a  plebiscite  were  taken,  nine-tenths  of 
them   would    vote    for   the  King.     At  that  time  the  Emperor 


3l6  OFFICIAL   BVZ/VNTINISM  [Dec.  24 

said  of  me:  '6V  71  est  pas  7tn  Jiommc  s^rieux.^  Of  course  I 
did  not  remind  him  of  that  in  the  weaver's  house  at  Don- 
chery." 

Somebody  then  mentioned  that  letters  to  Favre  began 
"Monsieur  le  Ministre,"  whereupon  the  Chief  said :  "  The  next 
time  I  write  to  him  I  shall  begin  HochwoJdgeborncr  Hcrr!" 
This  led  to  a  Byzantine  discussion  of  titles  and  forms  of 
address,  Excellent,  Hochwohlgcborcn,  and  WoJdgeboren.  The 
Chancellor  entertained  decidedly  anti-Byzantine  views.  "All 
that  should  be  dropped,"  he  said.  "  I  do  not  use  those  ex- 
pressions any  longer  in  private  letters,  and  officially  I  address 
councillors  down  to  the  third  class  as  Hochwohlgcborcn^ 

Abeken,  a  Byzantine  of  the  purest  water,  declared  that  dip- 
lomats had  already  resented  the  occasional  omission  of  portions 
of  their  titles,  and  that  only  councillors  of  the  second  class  were 
entitled  to  Hochwohlgcborcn.  "Well,"  said  the  Chief,  "I  want 
to  see  all  that  kind  of  thing  done  away  with  as  far  as  we  are 
concerned.  In  that  way  we  waste  an  ocean  of  ink  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  and  the  taxpayer  has  good  reason  to  com- 
plain of  extravagance.  I  am  quite  satisfied  to  be  addressed 
simply  as  '  Minister  President  Count  von  Bismarck.'  " 

Saturday,  December  24///.  —  Bucher  told  us  at  lunch  he  had 
heard  from  Berlin  that  the  Queen  and  the  Crown  Princess  had 
become  very  unpopular,  owing  to  their  intervention  on  behalf  of 
Paris ;  and  that  the  Princess,  in  the  course  of  a  conversation 
with  Putbus,  struck  the  table  and  exclaimed :  "  For  all  that, 
Paris  shall  not  be  bombarded!" 

We  are  joined  at  dinner  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  von  Becke- 
dorff,  an  old  and  intimate  friend  of  the  Chief,  who  said  to  him : 
"  If  I  had  been  an  officer  —  I  wish  I  were  —  I  should  now  have 
an  army  and  we  should  not  be  here  outside  Paris."  He  pro- 
ceeded to  give  reasons  for  believing  that  it  was  a  mistake  to 
have  waited  and  invested  Paris.  With  regard  to  the  operations 
of  the  last  few  weeks,  he  criticised  the  advance  of  the  army  so 
far  to  the  north  and  south-west  and  the  intention  of  advancing 
still  further.  "If  it  should  become  necessary  to  retire  from 
Rouen  and  Tours,  the  P>ench  will  think  they  have  beaten  us. 
It  is  an  unpractical  course  to  march  on  every  place  where  a 
mob  has  l)ccn  collected.  Wo  ought  to  remain  within  a  certain 
line.     It  niav  be  urged  that  in  that  case  the  French  would  be 


i«7oJ  now    JJATILKS   ARE    FOUGHT  317 

able  to  carry  on  their  or<^^anisation  beyond  that  line.  liut  they 
will  always  be  able  to  do  that  even  if  we  advance,  and  we  may 
be  obliged  ultimately  to  follow  them  to  the  Pyrenees  and  the 
Mediterranean."  "  When  we  were  still  at  Mayence,  I  thought 
that  the  best  plan  would  be  for  us  to  take  what  we  wanted  to 
keep  and  occuj)y  some  five  other  departments  as  a  pledge  for 
the  payment  of  the  cost  of  the  war,  and  then  let  the  French  try 
to  drive  us  out  of  our  positions." 

A  further  discussion  of  the  conduct  of  the  war  followed,  in 
the  course  of  which  the  Chief  remarked:  "With  us  it  occasion- 
ally happens  that  it  is  not  so  much  the  generals  who  begin  and 
direct  the  course  of  battles  as  the  troops  themselves.  Just  as  it 
was  with  the  Greeks  and  Trojans.  A  couple  of  men  jeer  at 
each  other  and  come  to  blows,  lances  are  flourished,  others  rush 
in  with  their  spears,  and  so  it  finally  comes  to  a  pitched  battle. 
First  the  outposts  fire  without  any  necessity,  then  if  all  goes 
well  others  press  forward  after  them;  at  the  start  a  non-com- 
missioned officer  commands  a  batch  of  men,  then  a  lieutenant 
advances  with  more  men,  after  him  comes  the  regiment,  and 
finally  the  general  must  follow  with  all  the  troops  that  are  left. 
It  was  in  that  way  that  the  battle  of  Spicheren  began,  and  also 
that  of  Gravelotte,  which  properly  speaking  should  not  have 
taken  place  until  the  19th.  It  was  different  at  Vionville.  There 
our  people  had  to  spring  at  the  French  like  bulldogs  and  hold 
them  fast.  At  St.  Privat  the  Guards  made  a  foolish  attack 
merely  out  of  professional  jealousy  of  the  Saxons,  and  then 
when  it  failed  threw  the  blame  on  the  Saxon  troops,  who  could 
not  have  come  a  minute  sooner  with  the  long  march  they  had 
had  to  make,  and  who  afterwards  rescued  them  with  wonderful 
gallantry." 

Later  on  I  was  summoned  to  see  the  Chief.  Various  articles 
are  to  be  written  on  the  barbarous  manner  in  which  the  French 
are  conducting  the  war  —  and  not  merely  the  f ranctireurs,  but 
also  the  regulars,  who  are  almost  daily  guilty  of  breaches  of  the 
Geneva  Convention.  The  French  appear  only  to  know,  and 
appeal  to,  those  clauses  that  are  advantageous  to  themselves. 
In  this  connection  should  be  mentioned  the  firing  at  flags  of 
truce,  the  ill-treatment  and  plundering  of  doctors  and  hospital 
bearers  and  attendants,  the  murder  of  wounded  soldiers,  the 
misuse  of  the  Geneva  Cross  by  franctireurs,  the  employment  of 


3l8  BISMARCK'S  "GEWGAWS"  [Dec.  26 

explosive  bullets,  and  the  treatment  of  German  ships  and  crews 
by  French  cruisers  in  breach  of  the  law  of  nations.  The  con- 
clusion to  be  as  follows  :  —  The  present  French  Government  is 
greatly  to  blame  for  all  this.  It  has  instigated  a  popular  war 
and  can  no  longer  check  the  passions  it  has  let  loose,  which 
disregard  international  law  and  the  rules  of  war.  They  are 
responsible  for  all  the  severity  which  we  are  obliged  to  employ 
against  our  own  inclinations  and  contrary  to  our  nature  and 
habits,  as  shown  in  the  conduct  of  the  Schleswig  and  Austrian 
campaigns. 

At  10  P.M.  the  Chief  received  the  first  class  of  the  Iron 
Cross. 

At  tea  Hatzfeld  informs  me  that  he  is  instructed  to  collect 
all  the  particulars  published  by  the  newspapers  respecting  the 
cruelties  of  the  French,  and  asks  whether  I  would  not  prefer  to 
undertake  that  task.  After  I  promised  to  do  so,  he  continued : 
"  Moreover,  I  believe  the  Chief  only  sent  for  me  in  order  to  tell 
me  his  opinion  of  the  new  decoration."  He  said  to  Hatzfeld : 
"  I  have  already  enough  of  these  gewgaws,  and  here  is  the  good 
King  sending  me  the  first  class  of  the  Iron  Cross.  I  shall  be 
thoroughly  ridiculous  with  it,  and  look  as  if  I  had  won  a  great 
battle.  If  I  could  at  least  send  my  son  the  second  class  which 
I  no  longer  want !  " 

Sunday,  December  2<fth.  —  Cardinal  Bonnechose  of  Rouen  is 
said  to  be  coming  here.  He  and  Persigny  want  to  convoke  the 
old  Legislative  Assembly,  and  still  more  the  Senate,  which  is 
composed  of  calmer  and  riper  elements,  in  order  to  discuss 
the  question  of  peace.  The  Chief  is  believed  to  have  made 
representations  to  the  King  respecting  the  expediency,  on  po- 
litical grounds,  of  greater  concentration  in  the  military  opera- 
tions. 

We  had  no  guests  at  dinner,  and  the  conversation  was,  for 
the  most  part,  not  worth  repeating.  The  following  may,  how- 
ever, be  noted.  Abckcn  said  he  had  observed  that  I  was  keep- 
ing a  very  complete  diary,  and  Bohlen  added  in  his  own  lively 
style :  "  Yes,  he  writes  down  :  '  At  45  minutes  past  3  o'clock 
Count  or  Baron  So-and-so  said  this  or  that,'  as  if  he  were  going 
to  swear  to  it  at  some  future  time."  Abeken  said  :  "  That  will 
one  day  be  material  for  history.  If  one  could  only  live  to  read 
it ! "     I   replied    that  it   would    certainly    furnish    material    for 


iSyoJ  MV    "MATERIAL   FOR    HISTORY"  319 

history,  and  very  trustworthy  material,  but  not  for  thirty 
years  to  come.  The  Chief  smiled  and  said :  "  Yes,  and 
the  reference  will  then  be :  '  Confcras  Buschii,  cap.  3,  p. 
20.'  " 

After  dinner  I  read  State  documents  and  ascertained  from 
them  that  an  extension  of  the  German  frontier  towards  the 
west  was  first  officially  submitted  to  the  King,  at  Herny,  on 
the  14th  of  August.  It  was  only  on  the  2nd  of  September 
that  the  Baden  Government  sent  in  a  memorial  in  the  same 
sense. 

Monday,  Dcccj)ibcy  26th.  —  Waldersee  dined  with  us.  The 
conversation  was  almost  entirely  on  military  subjects.  With 
respect  to  the  further  conduct  of  the  war,  the  Chief  said  that 
the  wisest  course  would  be  to  concentrate  our  forces  in  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  the  department  of  the  Meuse,  and  another  neighbour- 
ing department,  which  would  amount  to  a  strip  of  territory  with 
about  2,600,000  inhabitants.  If  one  took  in  a  few  other  depart- 
ments in  addition,  without  Paris,  it  would  amount  to  about  seven 
millions,  or  with  Paris  to  about  nine  million  inhabitants.  In 
any  case  the  operations  should  be  limited  to  a  smaller  area  than 
that  occupied  by  our  armies  at  present. 

People's  ability  to  carry  liquor  was  then  discussed,  and  the 
Chief  observed  :  "  Formerly  drink  did  not  affect  me  in  the  least. 
When  I  think  of  my  performances  in  that  line  !  The  strong 
wines,  particularly  Burgundy  !  "  The  conversation  afterwards 
turned  for  a  while  on  card-playing,  and  the  Minister  remarked 
that  he  had  also  done  a  good  deal  in  that  way  formerly.  He 
had  once  played  twenty-one  rubbers  of  whist,  for  instance,  one 
after  the  other  —  "which  amounts  to  seven  hours'  time."  He 
could  only  feel  an  interest  in  cards  when  playing  for  high 
stakes,  and  then  it  was  not  a  proper  thing  for  the  father  of  a 
family. 

This  subject  had  been  introduced  by  a  remark  of  the  Chief's 
that  somebody  was  a  "  Riemchenstecher."  He  asked  if  we 
understood  what  the  word  meant,  and  then  proceeded  to  explain 
it.  "  Riemchenstechen  "  is  an  old  soldiers'  game,  and  a  "  Riem- 
chenstecher "  is  not  exactly  a  scamp,  but  rather  a  sly,  sharp 
fellow.  The  Minister  then  related  how  he  had  seen  a  father 
do  his  own  son  at  cards  out  of  a  sum  of  twelve  thousand  thalers. 
"  I  saw  him  cheat,  and  made  a  sign  to  the  son,  who  understood 


320  A   CHRISTMAS  CUITING   FOR  THE   KING         [Dec.  26,  1870 

me.     He  lost  the  game  and   paid,  although  it   cost   him  two 
years'  income.     But  he  never  played  again." 

After  dinner  wrote  another  article  on  the  barbarity  with 
which  the  French  wage  war,  and  cut  out  for  the  King  an  article 
from  the  Staatsbiiergerzeitiitig,  recommending  a  less  considerate 
treatment  of  the  enemy. 


CHAPTER   XVI 

FIRST    WEEK    OF    THE    BOMBARDMENT 

On  Tuesday,  the  27th  of  December,  the  long-wished-for 
bombardment  of  Paris  at  length  began,  commencing  on  the 
east  side.  As  the  following  particulars  show,  we  at  first  knew 
nothing  of  it,  and  afterwards  also  it  was  only  for  a  few  days 
that  the  firing  gave  an  impression  of  being  particularly  violent. 
We  very  soon  grew  accustomed  to  it,  and  it  never  entirely 
diverted  our  attention  even  from  trifles,  nor  caused  any  lengthy 
interruption  of  our  work  or  of  the  flow  of  thought.  The  French 
forts  had  been  prepared  for  it.  The  diary  may  now  resume  its 
narrative. 

From  early  morning  on  Tuesday  until  far  into  the  day  there 
was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  and  rather  severe  cold.  In  the  morn- 
ing Theiss,  who  serves  Abeken  as  well  as  myself,  and  who 
seems  to  consider  that  our  old  Geheimrath  is  a  Catholic,  told 
me  :  —  "He  always  reads  his  prayers  in  the  morning.  I  believe 
it  is  Latin.  He  speaks  very  loud,  so  that  he  can  sometimes  be 
heard  in  the  antechamber.  Probably  it's  a  mass."  He  then 
added  that  Abeken  supposed  the  heavy  firing  that  was  heard 
from  7  A.M.  was  the  commencement  of  the  bombardment. 

Wrote  several  letters  to  Berlin  with  instructions  as  to  articles. 
Bray  is  to  be  sharply  attacked  by  our  newspapers.  After  12 
o'clock  I  telegraph  to  London  on  the  instructions  of  the  Chief 
that  the  bombardment  of  the  outer  fortifications  began  this 
morning.  Our  artillery  has  commenced  with  an  attack  upon 
Mont  Avron,  a  redoubt  near  Bondy,  and  it  appears  that  the 
Saxons  had  the  honour  to  lire  the  first  shot. 

The  Minister  remained  in  bed  the  whole  day,  not  because 
he  was  particularly  unwell,  but,  as  he  told  me,  to  maintain  an 
equable  warmth.  He  was  also  absent  from  dinner,  at  which  we 
were  joined  by  Count  Solms.     The  only  point  of  note  in  the 

VOL.    T. V  121 


322  BONArARTIST   ACTIVITY  [Dec.  29 

conversation  was  Abcken's  mention  of  a  very  pretty  poem  in 
the  Kladdcradatsch,  on  the  Duke  of  Coburg  —  probably  a 
panegyric. 

The  Bonapartists  seem  to  have  become  very  active,  and  to 
entertain  great  plans.  According  to  Bernstorff's  despatches 
Persigny  and  Palikao  intend  to  get  us  to  grant  neutrality  to 
Orleans,  and  to  convoke  there  the  Corps  Legislatif  to  decide 
whether  the  country  is  to  have  a  republic  or  a  monarchy,  and 
if  the  latter  which  dynasty  is  to  reign.  It  is  intended,  however, 
to  wait  for  a  while,  until  greater  discouragement  shall  have 
made  the  people  more  accommodating.  Bonnechose  proposes 
to  attempt  a  negotiation  for  peace  between  Germany  and  France. 
This  prelate  was  formerly  a  lawyer,  and  only  entered  holy 
orders  subsequently.  He  is  considered  to  be  intelligent,  is  con- 
nected with  the  Jesuits,  and,  although  in  politics  he  is  really  a 
Legitimist,  he  has  a  high  opinion  of  Eugenie  because  of  her 
piety.  He  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  doctrine  of  infalli- 
bility, and  expects  to  be  elected  Pope,  which  position  he  has 
indeed  some  prospect  of  attaining.  The  Archbishop  told  Pro- 
fessor Wagener,  who  had  been  sent  to  see  him  by  Manteuffel 
respecting  the  hospital  arrangements,  that  he  could  induce 
Trochu,  with  whom  he  is  acquainted,  to  surrender  Paris  in 
case  we  did  not  insist  upon  a  cession  of  territory.  The  Arch- 
bishop suggested  that  instead  of  a  cession  of  territory  we  might 
demand  the  return  of  Nice  and  Savoy  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  and 
then  oblige  the  latter  to  restore  their  territories  to  the  Pope  and 
to  the  Sovereigns  of  Tuscany  and  Naples.  In  that  way  we 
should  win  renown  as  the  protectors  of  order  and  the  restorers 
of  justice  in  Europe.     A  strange  idea  indeed  ! 

The  Chief  has  given  directions  to  adopt  the  severest  mea.s- 
ures  against  Noquet  le  Roi,  where  a  surprise  by  franctireurs 
was  assisted  by  the  inhabitants.  He  has  also  rejected  the 
appeal  of  the  mayor  and  municipality  of  Chatillon  to  be  relieved 
from  a  contribution  of  a  million  francs  imposed  upon  the  town 
as  a  penalty  for  similar  conduct.  In  both  cases  he  was  guided 
by  the  principle  that  the  population  must  be  made  to  suffer  by 
the  war  in  order  to  render  them  more  disposed  to  peace. 

At  II  P.M.  called  to  the  Chief,  who  gave  me  several  news- 
paper articles  from  Berlin  "for  the  collection  "  (of  examjjles  of 
I'>ench  barbarity  in  the  conduct  of  the  war  which  I  ha\e  begun 


iS-jo]  AN    AMERICAN    LADY'S    LHITKR  323 

under  his  instructions),  as  well  as  two  other  articles  that  are  to 
be  sent  to  the  King. 

Wcdiicsday,  December  2%tli.  —  Snowfall  and  moderately  cold. 
The  Chief  again  kept  to  his  room  to-day.  He  handed  me  a 
letter  in  French,  dated  the  25th  instant,  which  he  had  received 
from  "  Une  Americaine."  I  am  to  make  what  use  I  like  of  it. 
It  runs  as  follows  :  — 

"  Graf  von  Bismarck.  Jouissez  autant  que  possible,  Herr 
Graf,  du  climat  frais  de  Versailles,  car,  un  jour,  vous  aurez  a 
supporter  des  chaleurs  infernales  pour  tous  les  malheurs  que 
vous  avez  causes  a  la  France  ct  a  I'Allemagne."     That  is  all! 

His  Excellency  Herr  Delbriick  again  lunches  with  us.  He 
is  convinced  that  the  Second  Bavarian  Chamber  will  ultimately 
approve  the  Versailles  treaties  just  as  the  North  German  Diet 
did,  respecting  whose  decision  he  had  been  really  uneasy  for 
some  days. 

Thursday,  December  29///. —The  Minister  still  remains  in 
bed,  but  works  there,  and  does  not  seem  to  be  particularly 
unwell. 

In  the  afternoon  I  translated  for  the  King  Granville's  de- 
spatch to  Loftus  respecting  Bismarck's  circular  on  the  Luxem- 
burg affair.  Afterwards  studied  documents.  In  the  middle  of 
October  the  Chief  received  a  memorial  from  Coburg  with  pro- 
posals as  to  a  reorganisation  of  Germany.  These  also  included 
the  restoration  of  the  imperial  dignity,  and  finally  the  substitu- 
tion for  the  Bundesrath  of  a  Federal  Ministry,  and  the  creation 
of  a  Reichsrath  to  consist  of  representatives  of  the  Govern- 
ments and  delegates  from  the  Diets.  The  Chief  replied  to  this 
memorial  that  some  of  the  ideas  brought  forward  were  already 
for  some  time  past  in  process  of  realisation.  He  could  not 
agree  to  the  proposals  as  to  a  Federal  Ministry  and  the  Reichs- 
rath, as  he  considered  them  calculated  to  hamper  the  new 
organisation,  and,  if  necessary,  he  would  openly  declare  against 
them.  It  is  reported  from  Brussels  that  the  King  of  the  Bel- 
gians is  well  disposed  towards  us,  but  has  no  means  of  controll- 
ing the  anti-German  press  of  the  country.  The  Grand  Duke  of 
Hesse  has  stated  that  Alsace  and  Lorraine  must  become  Prus- 
sian provinces.  Dalwigk  (his  Minister),  who  is  as  opposed  to 
us  as  ever,  wishes  to  see  the  territory  to  be  ceded  by  France 
incorporated  with  Baden.     The  Grand   Duchy  would  then  cede 


324  Till::   BAVAKIAX   COURT  [Dec.  30 

the  district  near  Heidelberg  and  Mannheim  to  Bavaria,  whose 
connection  with  the  Palatinate  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine 
would  be  thus  reestablished.  In  Rome  the  Pope  wishes  to 
undertake  "  mediation  "  between  ourselves  and  France.  The 
expression  quoted  was  objected  to  by  Arnim  as  inappropriate. 

The  following  particulars  relating  to  the  King  of  Bavaria 
are  contained  in  a  report  from  Munich  :  "  His  kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world.  It  has  been  further  observed  that  Major  Sauer 
has  no  longer  any  influence  upon  him,  while  that  of  Privy 
Councillor  Eisenhart  has  increased,  as  indeed  also  that  of  Count 
Holnstein.  He  is  not  coming  to  Versailles,  in  the  first  place 
because  he  would  be  obliged  to  ride,  which  he  can  no  longer  do 
with  comfort,  and  in  the  next  place  because  he  does  not  like  to 
play  second  fiddle.  All  that  Bray  thinks  of  is  to  keep  his  own 
position  in  Vienna  warm,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  his  livelihood." 
Lutz  is  "the  tctc  forte  in  the  Ministry,  and  is  very  ambitious." 
The  Princes  Karl  and  Ludwig  are  strongly  anti-Prussian.  The 
Nuncio's  secretary  exercises  a  great  influence  with  his  chief.  — 
Read  a  letter  from  King  Lewis  to  our  Crown  Prince.  It  was 
written  at  the  commencement  of  the  war.  The  handwriting  is 
coarse  and  ugly  and  the  lines  are  not  straight.  It  expresses 
a  hope  that  the  independence  of  Bavaria  will  be  respected. 
Otherwise  the  tone  of  the  epistle  is  soundly  patriotic. 

In  the  evening  I  handed  Bucher,  as  material  for  an  article, 
all  the  newspaper  reports  I  have  collected  on  the  barbarous 
conduct  of  the  war  by  the  French,  contrary  to  the  law  of 
nations. 

At  10  o'clock  I  was  called  to  the  Chief,  who  was  lying  be- 
fore the  fire  on  a  sofa,  wrapt  in  a  blanket.  He  said  :  "  Well, 
we've  got  him!"  "Whom,  your  Excellency.'"  "Mont 
Avron."  He  then  showed  me  a  letter  from  Count  Waldersee, 
reporting  that  this  redoubt  was  occupied  by  the  troops  of  the 
1 2th  Army  Corps  this  afternoon.  "  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they 
have  laid  no  mine  and  that  the  poor  Saxons  will  not  be  blown 
up."  I  telegraphed  the  news  of  this  first  success  in  the  bom- 
bardment to  London,  but  in  cipher,  "  as  otherwise  the  general 
staff  might  be  angry." 

Subsequently  the  Chancellor  sent  for  me  once  more  to  show 
mc  an  outburst  of  the  Vienna  Tiv^cblatt  which  has  been  repro- 
duced hv  the  Ko!nis.  Ji:  Ztitioii- .      It  declares  that  liismarck  has 


1870]  lRi;.\\:il    DKMORAI.ISATIOX  325 

been  thoroughly  deceived  as  to  the  power  of  resistance  of  Paris, 
and  in  his  overhaste,  which  has  already  cost  the  lives  of  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  (why  not  at  once  say  millions  ?),  has  put  for- 
ward excessive  demands  in  connection  with  the  peace.  We 
reply,  through  the  SpcncrscJic  Zeid/ng,  that  up  to  the  present 
no  one  knows  what  the  Chancellor's  conditions  are,  as  he  has 
not  yet  had  any  opportunity  of  stating  them  oflficially,  but  they 
do  not  in  any  case  go  so  far  as  German  public  opinion,  which 
almost  unanimously  demands  the  cession  of  .all  Lorraine.  No 
one  can  say  either  what  his  views  were  respecting  the  power  of 
resistance  of  Paris,  as  he  has  never  had  to  give  official  expres- 
sion to  them. 

Friday,  Decejnber  30///.  —  The  bitter  cold  of  the  last  few 
days  still  continues.  In  consequence  of  his  indisposition  the 
Chief  still  keeps  to  his  room,  and  is  indeed  mostly  in  bed.  In 
the  morning,  on  his  instructions,  I  telegraphed  particulars  of 
the  occupation  of  Mont  Avron,  and  of  the  disgraceful  conduct 
of  the  French  authorities,  who,  according  to  the  official  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  delegation  at  Tours,  have  offered  a  pre- 
mium to  imprisoned  officers  to  return  to  France,  in  breach  of 
their  word  of  honour.  On  the  suggestion  of  the  Chief  I  write 
paragraphs  on  this  subject  for  the  German  press  as  well  as  for 
the  local  Moniteiir  to  the  following  effect :  — 

"  We  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  direct  attention  to  the 
profound  demoralisation  manifested  by  French  statesmen  and 
officers  in  the  matter  of  military  honour.  A  communication, 
which  reaches  us  from  a  trustworthy  source,  proves  that  we  had 
not  up  to  the  present  realised  how  deep  and  widespread  that 
evil  is.  We  have  now  before  us  an  official  order  issued  by  the 
French  Ministry  of  War,  the  5th  Bureau  of  the  6th  Depart- 
ment, which  bears  the  title  '  Solde  et  revues.'  It  is  dated  from 
Tours  on  the  13th  of  November,  and  is  signed  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Alfred  Jerald,  and  by  Colonel  Tissier  of  the  general 
staff  of  the  17th  Army  Corps.  This  order,  which  is  based 
upon  another  dated  the  loth  of  November,  assures  all  French 
officers  imprisoned  in  Germany,  without  distinction,  a  money 
payment  in  case  they  escape  from  custody.  We  repeat,  all  the 
French  officers  without  distinction ;  that  is  to  say  also  those 
who  have  given  their  word  of  honour  not  to  escape.  The 
premium  offered  for  such    dishonourable  conduct  amounts    to 


326  BISMARCK   AND   BF.UST  [Jan.  3 

750  francs.  A  measure  of  this  description  needs  no  comment. 
Honour  (which  is  the  dearest  treasure  of  every  German  officer 
and  — duty  and  justice  demand  that  we  should  add — formerly 
also  of  all  French  officers)  is  regarded  by  the  men  who  came  to 
power  on  the  4th  of  September  as  a  commodity  to  be  bought 
and  sold,  and  indeed  very  cheaply.  In  this  way  officers  of  the 
French  army  will  come  to  believe  that  France  is  no  longer 
administered  by  a  Government,  but  is  on  the  contrary  exploited 
by  a  trading  firm,  and  one  with  lax  principles  of  honesty  and 
decency,  under  the  title  of  '  Gambetta  and  Co.'  'Who'll  buy 
gods  .'' '      '  Who'll  sell  his  word  of  honour  ? '  " 

Afterwards  I  write  another  short  article  on  an  error  fre- 
quently committed  by  the  KolniscJic  Zcitung  and  recently  re- 
peated in  connection  with  the  Chancellor's  despatch  to  Vienna. 
The  great  Rhenish  newspaper  writes:  "Ever  since  1866  we 
have  been  amongst  those  who  have  persistently  warned  both 
Vienna  and  Berlin  to  dismiss  their  idle  jealousies  and  to  come 
to  the  best  understanding  possible  in  the  circumstances.  We 
have  often  regretted  the  personal  irritation  between  Bismarck 
and  Beust  which  appears  to  stand  in  the  way  of  such  a 
rapprochement,  &c."  The  reply  is  to  the  following  effect:  — 
"  It  has  been  observed  that  the  KolniscJic  Zcitujig  has  already 
frequently  sought  to  explain  political  acts  and  omissions  of  the 
Chanccllr)r  of  the  Confederation  by  personal  motives,  j^ersonal 
likes  and  dislikes,  personal  disi)osition  and  ill  humour;  and  we 
have  here  a  further  instance  of  this  unjustifiable  course.  We 
cannot  imagine  why  such  susjiicions  are  time  after  time  brought 
forward.  We  only  know  that  absolutely  no  feeling  of  personal 
irritation  exists  between  the  Chancellor  of  the  North  German 
Confederation  and  the  Chancellor  of  the  Austria-Hungarian 
Monarchy,  and  indeed  that,  previous  to  1866,  when  they  often 
came  into  personal  contact,  they  were  on  excellent  terms,  as 
Count  Bismarck  himself  declared  in  the  North  German  Reichs- 
tag. Since  then  nothing  has  happened  between  them  as 
]:)rivate  persons  calculated  to  create  bitterness,  if  for  no  other 
reason  than  because  they  have  had  no  personal  intercourse.  If 
they  have  taken  up  a  position  more  or  less  antagonistic  to  each 
other,  the  reasons  are  obvious.  Up  to  the  present  they  were 
the  representatives  of  different  ])olitical  systems,  and  acted 
upon    different    political    j)rinciples    which    it   was    difficult,  al- 


iSyi]  TRKAIMKNT   Ol''    I'lll':   ALSACIANS  3j;- 

though  not  quite  impossible,  to  reconcile.  This,  and  this  aloin', 
is  the  sole  explanation  of  what  the  Kdhiischc  Zcitiiui]^  ascribes 
to  personal  motives,  from  which  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  no 
statesman  of  the  present  day  are  farther  removed  than  those  of 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation.  It  may  also  be  remarked 
incidentally  that  not  only  has  Count  Bismarck  not  been 
'  thoroughly  '  deceived  as  to  the  power  of  resistance  of  Paris, 
but  he  has  not  been  deceived  at  all.  His  opinion  has  never 
been  asked  on  the  subject;  but  we  know  on  the  best  authority 
that  months  ago  he  regarded  the  capture  of  the  city  as  difficult, 
and  was  decidedly  opposed  to  the  investment  even  before  the 
fall  of  Mctz." 

In  reading  documents  in  the  evening  I  find  that  the  Chief 
has  had  a  letter  sent  to  General  Bismarck-Bohlen  stating  that 
he  does  not  agree  with  the  general  in  thinking  that  his  main 
task  should  be  to  alleviate  the  misery  caused  by  the  war, 
and  to  render  the  Alsacians  well  disposed  towards  the  future 
masters  of  the  country.  For  the  moment  his  first  business 
must  be  to  promote  the  objects  of  the  war  and  to  secure  the 
safety  of  the  troops.  He  should  therefore  expel  such  French 
officials  as  will  not  take  service  under  us,  including  the  magis- 
trates who  will  not  discharge  the  duties  of  their  office;  and  he 
should  also  withhold  the  payment  of  pensions  directing  the 
pensioners  to  apply  to  the  Government  at  Tours.  Under  such 
conditions  the  people  would  be  more  disposed  to  call  for 
peace. 

Saturday,  December  Z^st.  —  All  our  people  arc  ailing.  I 
also  begin  to  feel  exhausted.  It  will  be  well  to  shorten  the 
night  work  which  my  diary  entails,  or  to  interrupt  it  altogether 
for  a  few  days. 

Tuesday,  January  yd.  —  I  observe  that  the  opinion  already 
expressed  by  the  Chief  on  several  occasions,  that  the  dispersion 
of  the  German  forces  towards  the  north  and  south-west  is 
dangerous,  and  that  more  concentration  is  desirable,  is  also 
held  elsewhere.  A  military  authority  has  written  on  this  sub- 
ject in  the  Vienna  Prcsse ;  and  the  National  Zeitujig  of  the 
31st  of  December  publishes  an  article  which  is  even  more  in 
harmony  with  the  Chief's  views.  It  says,  inter  alia: — "The 
withdrawal  of  our  troops  from  Dijon  and  the  non-occupation 
of  Tours,  to  the  gates  of  which  a  division  of  the    loth  Army 


328  A   N.Vl  lONAL   ASSEMBLY    TOR    KRAN'CE  [Jan.  6 

Corps  had  advanced,  give  perhaps  an  indication  of  the  views 
entertained  generally  on  the  German  side,  and  which  will 
govern  the  continuation  of  the  campaign.  It  may  possibly  be 
expected  that  France  will  forego  further  resistance  after  the 
fall  of  Paris,  and  will  agree  to  the  German  conditions  of  peace. 
That,  however,  is  not  certain,  and  it  is  necessary  to  be  prepared 
for  an  opposite  contingency.  In  any  case  the  fall  of  Paris  will 
not  be  immediately  followed  by  the  establishment  of  a  Govern- 
ment generally  recognised  and  supported  by  a  National  Assem- 
bly, with  which  we  could  enter  into  negotiations  for  peace. 
Then  if  hostilities  are  to  be  continued  they  cannot  aim  at  con- 
quering the  whole  of  such  an  extensive  country  as  France. 
Our  army,  as  hitherto,  might  indeed  be  everywhere  victorious 
and  disperse  the  hostile  forces.  That,  however,  would  not  be 
sufficient.  It  would  be  necessary  to  organise  a  new  civil  admin- 
istration in  all  the  conquered  districts  and  to  subject  the  popu- 
lation to  its  rule.  Even  in  the  country  lying  between  the 
Channel  and  the  Loire  our  forces  would  not  be  sufficient  to 
completely  secure  the  safety  of  communications  and  to  main- 
tain the  authority  of  a  foreign  administration  in  each  town  and 
village,  to  prevent  treacherous  attacks  and  to  collect  the  taxes 
as  well  as  the  contributions  and  supplies  that  are  indispensable 
for  the  purposes  of  the  war.  To  extend  the  area  of  occupation 
indefinitely  would  not  only  be  to  overtax  our  military  power, 
however  highly  we  may  rate  it,  but  to  unduly  drain  our  home  ser- 
vices for  the  necessary  supply  of  civil  administrators.  There- 
fore, if  peace  is  not  attainable  within  a  very  short  time  our 
military  authorities  must  set  clear  and  distinct  limits  to  the  task 
which  they  proj^ose  to  themselves.  They  must  select  a  fixed 
j)ortion  of  French  territory,  which  they  can  occupy  so  com- 
pletely that  we  shall  have  full  command  over  it,  and  can  retain 
it  as  long  as  may  be  desired.  This  portion  should  include  the 
capital  and  the  best  provinces,  with  the  finest  and  most  war- 
like poj)ulation,  and  it  would  have,  of  course,  to  bear  the  whole 
burden  and  cost  of  the  war  until  a  peace  party  had  grown  up 
throughout  the  country  strong  enough  to  force  its  views  u]:)on 
the  government  of  the  day.  The  occupied  territory  should  be 
so  limited  as  to  make  its  defence  as  easy  as  possible  fr(^m  a 
military  j)oint  of  view.  Of  course  further  offensive  oj:)erations 
for    tcnij)orary    purposes    might   be    undertaken    beyond    those 


1S71I  BISMARCK    1;N'\VKI.L  329 

lines,  but  there  slioulcl  from  the  l)ef(uininf^  be  no  intention  of 
goin^  permanently  beyond  them.  In  the  meantime  tlie  work 
of  annexation  should  be  proceeded  with  in  those  districts  which 
Germany  requires  for  the  security  of  her  frontier  without  await- 
ing the  conclusion  of  peace." 

Friday,  Januci}-)'  (jtJi.  —  Up  to  yesterday  the  cold  was  very 
severe.  The  Chief  has  been  unwell  nearly  the  whole  week. 
Yesterday  for  the  first  time  he  went  out  for  a  short  drive,  and 
again  this  afternoon.  The  Bureau  has  been  reinforced  by  two 
officials,  namely  Oberregierungsrath  Wagencr  and  Baron  von 
Holstein,  a  secretary  of  embassy.  Amongst  the  articles  which 
I  have  written  within  the  last  few  days  was  one  concerning  the 
withdrawal  of  a  number  of  railway  waggons  from  home  trafific, 
and  consequently  from  the  use  of  German  industry,  solely  for 
the  purpose  of  collecting  provisions  here  in  anticipation  of  the 
time  when  famine  shall  at  length  compel  Paris  to  surrender.  I 
described  this  as  humane,  but  unpractical  and  impolitic,  as  the 
Parisians,  when  they  hear  that  we  have  made  preparations  for 
that  event,  will  continue  their  resistance  to  the  last  crust  of  bread 
and  the  last  joint  of  horseflesh.  We  shall,  therefore,  ourselves 
be  contributing  through  such  acts  of  humanity  to  a  prolongation 
of  the  siege.  It  is  not  for  us  to  provide  against  the  threatened 
danger  of  famine  by  establishing  storehouses  or  collecting  the 
means  of  transport  for  reprovisioning  the  city,  but  rather  for 
the  Parisians  themselves  by  means  of  a  timely  capitulation.  I 
yesterday  translated  for  the  use  of  the  King  two  English  docu- 
ments respecting  the  sinking  of  English  coal  ships  near  Rouen 
by  our  troops,  who  considered  the  measure  necessary. 

After  dinner  I  read  despatches  and  drafts.  A  demand  has 
been  addressed  to  the  German  railways  to  supply  a  number 
of  waggons  (  "  2,800  axles  "  )  for  the  purpose  of  transporting 
provisions  to  Paris.  The  Chief  entered  an  energetic  protest 
against  this  measure,  which  would  be  prejudicial  to  us  from  a 
political  standpoint,  as  the  knowledge  of  those  provisions  would 
enable  the  holders  of  power  in  Paris  to  exhaust  all  their  sup- 
plies before  finally  yielding,  without  any  fear  of  famine  at  the 
last  moment.  A  telegram  was  sent  to  Itzenplitz  on  the  3rd  of 
January  suggesting  that  he  should  not  deliver  a  single  waggon 
for  this  purpose,  and  asking  him  to  reply  by  wire  whether  he 
would    decline    such    requisitions.     If   not,    the  Chief    "  would 


330  A    LErn::R   from   the   king;   of   SWEDKN  [Jan.  s 

request  his  Majesty  to  relieve  him  from  all  responsibility." 
Itzenplitz  telegraphed  back  that  he  agreed  with  the  views  of 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation,  and  would  act  accordingly. 
A  letter  trom  the  King  of  Sweden,  addressed  to  a  Commandant 
Vcrrier  in  Erfurt,  is  to  be  returned  through  the  Dead  Letter 
Ofifice.  His  Swedish  Majesty,  whom  we  know  not  to  be  par- 
ticularly well  disposed  towards  us,  says  in  this  epistle,  which, 
by  the  way,  is  written  in  bad  French,  with  many  orthographi- 
cal errors,  that  he  regrets  to  have  to  watch  the  struggle  with 
"folded  arms,"  and  to  be  obliged  to  "eat  his  bread  in  peace." 
"  A'oits  nous  amions  tardivcmcnt,  h^las  !  mats  avcc  viqiwn?',  et 
fesph'e  que  Ic  jour  de  vengeance  arrivcra  !  "  Vengeance  .''  What 
have  the  Swedes  to  avenge  upon  us  .''  It  would  seem  as  if 
Prince  Charles  of  Rumania  were  no  longer  able  to  manage  the 
local  extremists,  and  were  thinking  of  abdicating  and  leaving 
the  country.  "  We  have  no  political  interests  in  Rumania." 
The  Chief  has  made  representations  to  the  King  suggesting  a 
limitation  of  the  seat  of  war  for  political  reasons,  namely  on 
the  ground  that  only  thus  shall  we  be  able  to  maintain  our  po- 
sition in  the  occupied  portions  of  France  and  take  full  advan- 
tage of  our  occujmtion  ;  and  he  has  further  proposed  that  wc 
should  give  notice  to  withdraw  from  the  Geneva  Convention, 
which  is  unpractical.  ]-5onncchose  has,  at  the  instance  of  the 
Pope,  addressed  a  letter  to  King  William  in  favour  of  peace, 
but  of  an  "honourable"  peace,  that  is  to  say,  one  that  would 
not  involve  a  cession  of  territory.  That  we  could  have  had 
twelve  weeks  ago  from  Monsieur  Favre,  if  the  Chief  had  not 
preferred  a  useful  peace.  For  this  reason  the  Minister  recom- 
mended that  the  letter  should  be  left  unanswered.  According 
to  an  intimation  from  Persigny,  Prince  Napoleon  wishes  to 
come  to  Versailles  in  order  to  act  as  intermediary.  lie  is  a 
highly  intelligent  and  amiable  gentleman,  but  enjoys  little  con- 
sideration in  P'rancc,  and  therefore  the  Chancellor  declined  to 
negotiate  with  him.  In  the  London  Conference  on  the  Black 
.Sea  question  wc  are  to  give  every  possible  support  to  Russia's 
demands.  The  Dowager  Queen  at  Dresden  has  suggested  to 
P^ichmann  (the  Prussian  Minister)  that  it  would  be  an  indica- 
tion of  confidence  in  .Saxony  if  we  were  to  allow  them  to  garri- 
son K()nigstein  with  .Saxon  troops  alone. 

Saturday,  Janu(vy    yfh.  —  1  labcr    suggested    that    jiossibly 


iS;!]  Till'.    1'1,1:ASUK1;S   (JF    the    I'Alil.K  331 

some  political  documents  of  importance  for  us  mif^ht  be  found 
in  Odillon  Ikirrot's  house  at  Houj^ival.  I  asked  the  Minister's 
permission  to  ^o  over  there  with  ikicher.  He  rejih'cd  :  "That 
is  all  very  well,  but  is  it  a  private  library  ?  I  must  preserve 
the  things  for  M.  Odillon  Barrot.  But  you  can  see  if  there  is 
anything  political  amongst  them."  It  proved  on  examination 
to  be  a  well-chosen  library,  containing  historical  and  political 
works,  as  well  as  polite  literature.  It  included  also  a  number 
of  English  books,  but  contained  nothing  of  the  character  sus- 
pected by  Haber. 

This  evening  the  Minister  dines  with  us  again. 

We  hear  at  tea  that  the  bombardment  of  the  forts  on  the 
north  side  of  Paris  has  also  begun,  and  shows  good  results. 
Fires  have  broken  out  in  Vaugirard  and  Crenelles  —  whence 
probably  the  smoke  arose  which  we  saw  yesterday  from  the 
hills  between  Ville  d'Avray  and  Sevres. 

Keudell  thinks  I  ought  to  tell  the  Chief.  I  go  up  to  him 
at  a  quarter  to  11.  He  thanks  me,  and  then  asks,  "What  time 
is  it.''"  I  answer,  "Nearly  11,  Excellency."  "Well,  then, 
tell  Keudell  to  prepare  the  communication  for  the  King."  I 
ascertain  downstairs  that  this  is  a  complaint  that  by  1 1  o'clock 
at  night  the  military  authorities  have  not  communicated  to  the 
Minister  matters  of  which  civilians  were  informed  at  2  p.m. 

Sunday,  January  Sth.  —  At  dinner  the  Chief  gave  some 
further  reminiscences  of  his  youth.  He  spent  the  time  from 
his  sixth  to  his  twelfth  year  at  the  Plahmann  Institute  in  Berlin, 
an  educational  establishment  worked  on  the  principles  of  Pesta- 
lozzi  and  Jahn.  It  was  a  period  he  could  not  think  of  with 
pleasure.  The  regime  was  artificially  Spartan.  While  there 
he  never  fully  satisfied  his  hunger,  except  when  he  was  invited 
out.  "  The  meat  was  like  india-rubber,  not  exactly  hard,  but 
too  much  for  one's  teeth.  And  carrots — I  liked  them  raw, — 
but  cooked,  and  with  hard  potatoes,  square  junks  !  " 

This  led  up  to  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  the  Chief  giving 
his  views  chiefly  of  certain  varieties  of  fish.  He  had  a  pleasant 
recollection  of  fresh-river  lampreys,  of  which  he  could  eat  eight 
or  ten ;  he  then  praised  schnapel,  a  kind  of  whiting,  and  the 
Elbe  salmon,  the  latter  being  "  a  happy  mean  between  the  Bal- 
tic salmon  and  that  of  the  Rhine,  which  is  too  rich  for  me." 
With  regard  to  bankers'  dinners,  "  nothing  is  considered  good 


332  lU^MARi  K'S    llKSr   NEWSI'Al'ER    AKTRI.E  [Jan.  9 

unless  it  is  dear,  —  no  carp  because  it  is  comparatively  cheap  in 
Berlin,  but  zander  (a  kind  of  perch-pike)  because  it  is  difficult 
to  carry.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  do  not  care  for  these,  and  just 
as  little  for  lampreys,  of  which  the  flesh  is  too  soft  for  me.  But 
I  could  eat  marena  every  day  of  the  week.  I  almost  prefer 
them  to  trout,  of  which  I  only  like  those  of  a  medium  size, 
weighing  about  half  a  pound.  The  large  ones  that  are  usually 
served  at  dinners  in  Frankfort,  and  which  mostly  come  from 
the  Wolfsbriinnen  near  Heidelberg,  are  not  worth  much.  They 
are  expensive,  and  so  one  must  have  them.  That's  also  the  way 
at  Court  with  oysters.  They  don't  eat  any  in  England  when 
the  Queen  is  present,  as  they  are  too  cheap  there." 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  Arc  de  Triomphe  in 
Paris,  which  was  compared  with  the  Brandenburg  Gate.  The 
Chief  said  of  the  latter:  "It  is  really  beautiful  in  its  way  — 
particularly  without  the  two  pillared  porticos.  I  have  advised 
the  King  to  let  it  stand  free,  and  have  the  guardhouses  removed. 
It  would  be  much  more  effective,  as  it  would  no  longer  be 
squeezed  in  and  partly  concealed  as  it  is  now." 

Wagener  having  mentioned  his  former  journali.stic  work,  the 
Minister  said :  "  I  know  my  first  newspaper  article  was  about 
shooting.  At  that  time  I  was  still  a  wild  junker.  Some  one 
had  written  a  spiteful  article  on  sport,  which  set  my  blood  boil- 
ing, so  that  I  sat  down  and  wrote  a  reply,  which  I  handed  to 
Altvatcr,  the  editor,  but  without  success.  He  answered  very 
politely,  but  said  it  would  not  do,  he  could  not  accept  it.  I  was 
beside  myself  with  indignation  that  any  one  should  be  at  liberty 
to  attack  sportsmen  without  being  obliged  to  listen  to  their 
reply;   but  so  it  was  at  that  time." 

The  defence  put  forward  by  the  Lu.xemburg  Government  in 
reply  to  our  complaints  respecting  breaches  of  neutrality  is  in- 
sufficient. It  jjcrhaps  shows  the  good  will  of  that  Government, 
but  certainly  the  facts  j^rove  that  they  are  not  able  to  maintain 
their  own  neutrality.  They  have  been  again  warned,  further 
evidence  being  given  in  sui^|)ort  of  our  charges.  If  this  does 
not  prove  effective,  we  shall  be  obliged  to  occupy  the  Grand 
Duchy,  and  hand  over  his  passports  to  the  Grand  Ducal  Minister 
in  Berlin.  A  communication  to  the  same  effect  has  been  made 
to  the  Powers  that  signed  the  Treaty  of  1867.  According  to  a 
memorandum  in  which  the  Chief  pro])osed  to  the  King  that  the 


1871 J  I'KLNXi;    \Al'01,i:()\    HAS    A    PLAN  333 

Statesmen  who  coiieluded  the  treaties  providing  for  the  acces- 
sion of  Baden  antl  Wiirtemberg  to  the  North  German  Confed- 
eration sliould  receive  decorations,  an  exception  was  to  be  made 
in  the  case  of  Dalwigk,  because  he  had  constantly  intrigued  and 
worked  against  Prussia  and  the  cause  of  German  unity,  and  only 
finally  gave  way  on  the  compulsion  of  necessity  ;  and  his  decora- 
tion would,  therefore,  have  a  bad  effect  upon  public  opinion, 
which  had  frequently  urged  the  exercise  of  Prussian  influence  to 
secure  his  dismissal. 

Mofuiay,  Jajiuary  (^t/i.  —  It  is  reported  from  London  that 
Prince  Napoleon  has  a  plan  under  consideration  for  conclud- 
ing on  his  own  authority  a  peace  satisfactory  to  us,  and  then 
after  the  capitulation  of  Paris  convoking  the  two  Chambers  to 
ratify  the  treaty,  and  to  decide  upon  the  future  form  of  gov- 
ernment, and  eventually  upon  the  future  dynasty.  This  plan 
would  be  supported  by  Vinoy  and  Ducrot.  The  Orleanists 
are  also  active,  and  hope  to  win  over  Thiers  to  their  side. 
Bernstorff  reports  that  it  has  been  ascertained  from  a  servant 
of  Dr.  Reitlinger,  Favre's  secretary,  that  he  has  endeavoured 
to  hatch  a  democratic  conspiracy  in  South  Germany.  Gladstone 
has  received  Reitlinger,  and  promised  to  support  him  in  every 
possible  way. 

In  the  afternoon  I  drafted  a  telegram  as  to  the  further  suc- 
cessful progress  of  the  bombardment.  On  submitting  it  to 
the  Chief,  he  struck  out  a  passage  in  which  it  was  mentioned 
that  our  shells  had  fallen  in  the  Luxembourg  Gardens,  as  being 
"impolitic."  He  also  instructed  me  to  telegraph  to  the  Foreign 
Office  in  Berlin  to  omit  this  passage  from  the  report  of  the 
general  staff. 

The  following  pretty  story  is  making  the  round  of  the  news- 
papers. It  is  taken  from  the  private  letter  of  a  German  officer, 
and  was  first  published  in  the  Leipziger  Tageblatt.  "  One  day 
the  aide-de-camp.  Count  Lehndorff,  visited  Captain  von  Strantz 
at  one  of  the  outposts  at  Ville  d'Avray,  near  Paris.  In  reply 
to  the  Count's  question  as  to  how  he  w^as  getting  on,  the  Cap- 
tain said:  'Oh,  very  well;  I  have  just  been  dining  for  the 
sixty-seventh  time  off  roast  mutton.'  The  Count  laughed,  and 
after  a  while  drove  off  again.  Next  day  a  policeman  called 
upon  the  Captain  with  the  following  message  :  '  It  having  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  his  Excellency  Count  Bismarck,  Chancellor 


334  THE   IRON   CROSS  [Jan.  9 

of  the  Confederation,  that  Captain  von  Strantz  would  doubtless 
be  dining  to-day  off  his  sixty-eighth  joint  of  roast  mutton,  his 
Excellency  sends  him  herewith  four  ducks  as  a  change  of 
menu.'  "  This  anecdote  has  the  advantage  over  most  of  those 
appearing  in  the  press,  that  it  is  in  the  main  correct.  But  the 
policeman  did  not  call  on  the  next  day.  Count  Lehndorff  dined 
with  us  a  few  days  before  Christmas. 

The  Chief  was  shaved  as  usual  on  coming  to  dinner  to-day. 
He  first  mentioned  that  Count  ]^ill  had  received  the  Iron  Cross, 
and  seemed  to  think  that  it  should  more  properly  have  been 
given  to  his  elder  son,  as  he  was  wounded  in  the  cavalry  charge 
at  Mars  la  Tour.  "  The  wound  was  an  accident,"  he  went  on, 
"  and  others  who  were  not  wounded  may  have  been  equally 
brave.  But  it  is,  after  all,  a  distinction,  a  kind  of  compensa- 
tion for  the  wounded."  "  I  remember  when  I  was  a  young 
man  that  one  Herr  von  Reuss  went  about  Berlin  also  wearing 
the  Cross.  I  thought  to  myself  what  wonders  he  must  have 
done  ;  but  I  afterwards  ascertained  that  he  had  an  uncle  who 
was  a  Minister,  and  he  had  been  attached  to  the  general  staff 
as  a  kind  of  private  aide-de-camp." 

The  Chancellor  suddenly  remarked:  "It  must  be  three 
weeks  since  I  saw  Serenissimus.'  It  is  not  so  long  since  I  saw 
Serenior.''^  I  cut  the  Sereni."  The  Chancellor  then  continued, 
obviously  with  reference  to  the  Sereni,  that  is  the  Princes  at 
the  Hotel  des  Reservoirs,  or  one  of  them,  but  without  any  con- 
necting sentence  :  "  I  remember  at  Gottingen  I  once  called  a 
student  a  silly  youngster.  (Dummer  Junge,  the  recognised 
form  of  offence  when  it  is  intended  to  provoke  a  duel.)  On 
his  sending  me  his  challenge  I  said  I  had  not  wished  to  offend 
him  by  the  remark  that  he  was  a  silly  youngster,  but  merely  to 
express  my  conviction." 

While  we  were  discussing  pheasant  and  saucr-kraut,  some 
one  remarked  that  the  Minister  had  not  been  out  shooting  for 
a  long  time,  although  the  woods  between  Versailles  and  Baris 
were  full  of  game.  "Yes,"  he  re])lied,  "something  has  always 
happened  to  prevent  me.  The  last  time  was  at  Ferricres ;  the 
King  was  away  and  he  had  forbidden  shooting,  that  is  to  say, 
in  the  j)ark,  just  as  he  has  now  given  orders  that  Ferrieres  must 

'  Tlie  King.  '^  The  ("rown  I'lincc. 


KS71]  UISMARCK    AXn    KOl'lISCIIILU  335 

be  spared,  merely  beeause  it  belon<^s  to  a  rich  Jew.  We  did  not 
go  into  tiie  park,  and  there  was  plenty  of  game,  but  not  much 
of  it  was  shot,  as  the  cartridges  were  bad."  Holstein,  who,  by 
the  way,  turns  out  to  be  exceedingly  amiable,  hard-working, 
and  helpful,  remarked:  "This  is  the  account  given  of  the  affair, 
Excellency.  You  were  aware  of  his  Majesty's  orders,  and  of 
course  desired  to  obey  them.  But  it  unfortunately  happened 
as  you  were  taking  a  walk  on  one  occasion  you  were  suddenly 
set  upon  by  three  or  four  pheasants  and  were  obliged  to  shoot 
them  down  in  self-defence." 

The  French  Rothschild  recalled  the  German  one,  of  whom 
the  Chief  related  a  very  amusing  story.  He  said  :  "  When  the 
members  of  the  Reichstag  were  here  recently,  I  was  seated 
next  to  Rothschild  at  the  Crown  Prince's.  The  Prince  sat  next 
to  me,  and  on  his  other  side  was  Simson.  Rothschild  smokes 
a  great  deal,  and  smelt  of  that  and  other  things,  and  so  I 
thought  I  would  play  a  little  practical  joke  before  we  sat  down. 
Put  it  did  not  succeed.  It  is  only  after  dinner  that  stewards  of 
the  household  begin  to  be  sensible  and  listen  to  a  body.  I  had 
my  revenge,  however,  by  letting  my  neighbour  have  the  benefit 
of  my  remarks.  I  said  to  him,  '  You  should  have  a  house  in 
Berlin,  and  invite  people  to  see  you  and  so  on.'  'What  do  you 
mean  ? '  he  asked,  in  a  loud  and  almost  angry  voice.  '  Am  I  to 
give  dinners  in  a  restaurant.'''  'Well,  you  might  do  that  too,' 
I  replied,  '  but  to  other  people,  not  to  me.  In  my  opinion  you 
owe  it  to  the  credit  of  your  house.  But  the  best  thing  would 
be  to  have  a  place  of  your  own  in  Berlin.  You  know  there  is 
nothing  to  be  expected  any  longer  from  the  Paris  and  London 
Rothschilds,  and  so  you  ought  to  do  something  in  Berlin. 
People  are  constantly  surprised  that  you  have  not  yet  got  into 
the  Almanach  de  Gotha.  Of  course,  what  has  not  been  done 
up  to  now  may  yet  happen,  but  I  am  afraid  you  are  not  going 
the  right  way  to  w'ork." 

Finally  polite  literature  came  to  be  discussed,  and  Spiel- 
hagen's  "  Problematische  Naturen"  was  mentioned.  The  Chan- 
cellor had  read  it,  and  did  not  think  badly  of  it,  but  he  said  : 
"  I  shall  certainly  not  read  it  a  second  time.  One  has  abso- 
lutely no  time  here.  Otherwise  a  much-occupied  Minister 
might  well  take  up  such  a  book  and  forget  his  despatches  over 
it  for  a  couple  of  hours."      Freytag's  "Soil  und  Haben  "  was 


336  TlIK   CIIANlEI.LOR   ox   GOLTHE  [Jan.  io 

also  mentioned,  and  his  description  of  the  Polish  riots,  as  well 
as  the  story  of  the  bread-and-butter  Miss  and  the  ball,  were 
praised,  while  his  heroes  were  considered  insipid.  One  said 
they  had  no  passion,  and  another  no  souls.  Abeken,  who  took 
an  active  part  in  the  conversation,  observed  that  he  could  not 
read  any  of  these  things  twice,  and  that  most  of  the  well-known 
modern  authors  had  only  produced  one  good  book  apiece. 
"Well,"  said  the  Chief,  "I  could  also  make  you  a  present  of 
three-fourths  of  Goethe  —  the  remainder,  certainly  —  I  should 
like  to  live  for  a  long  spell  on  a  desert  island  with  seven  or 
eight  volumes  out  of  the  forty."  Fritz  Renter  was  then  re- 
ferred to,  and  the  Minister  remarked,  " '  Uit  de  Franzosentid,' 
very  pretty  but  not  a  novel."  "  Stromtid  "  was  also  mentioned. 
"  H'm,"  said  the  Chief,  '' ' Dat  is  as  dat  Icddcr  is'  (That's  just 
how  it  is,  a  favourite  expression  of  one  of  the  characters  in  the 
book)  —  that,  it  is  true,  is  a  novel,  and  it  contains  many  good 
and  others  indifferent,  but  all  through  the  peasants  are  de- 
scribed exactly  as  they  are." 

In  the  evening  I  translated  for  the  King  a  long  article  from 
the  Times  on  the  situation  in  Paris.  Afterwards  at  tea  Keudcll 
spoke  very  well  and  sensibly  of  certain  qualities  of  the  Chancel- 
lor, who  reminded  him  of  Achilles,  his  great  gifts,  the  youth- 
fulness  of  his  character,  his  quickness  of  temper,  his  tendency 
to  Wcltschmerz,  his  inclination  to  withdraw  from  great  affairs, 
and  his  invariably  victorious  action.  Our  times  could  boast  a 
Troy,  and  also  an  Agamemnon,  shepherd  of  the  nations. 

Tuesday,  January  \otJi.  —  Earth  and  sky  are  full  of  snow. 
A  shot  is  only  to  be  heard  now  and  again  from  our  batteries,  or 
from  the  forts.  Count  Bill  is  here,  and  General  von  Manteuffcl 
calls  at  I  o'clock.  They  are  passing  through  on  their  way  to 
the  army  that  is  to  operate  against  Rourbaki  in  the  south-cast 
under  Manteuffcl.  During  the  afternoon  I  telegraph  twice  to 
London  reporting  the  retreat  of  Chanzy  at  Le  IVIans,  with  the 
loss  of  a  thousand  men  who  were  made  j^risoners,  and  Wcrder's 
victorious  resistance  at  Villcrsexel  to  a  superior  French  force 
advancing  to  the  relief  of  Bclfort. 

The  first  subject  mentioned  at  dinner  is  the  bombardment. 
The  Chief  holds  that  most  of  tlic  Paris  forts  are  of  little  impor- 
tance, except  perhaps  Mont  Valcrien — "  Not  much  more  than 
the  redoubts  at  Diippcl."     That  is  to  sa\'  the  moats  wxk-  not  very 


iSyi]  BISMARCK'S   ANCKSTURS  337 

deep,  and  formerly  the  walls  were  also  weak.  The  conversation 
then  turns  on  the  International  League  of  Peace  and  its  connec- 
tion with  social  democracy  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  Karl  Marx, 
who  is  now  living  in  London,  has  been  appointed  President  of 
the  German  branch.  Buchcr  describes  Marx  as  an  intelligent 
man  with  a  good  scientific  education  and  the  real  leader  of  the 
international  labour  movement.  With  reference  to  the  League 
of  Peace  the  Chief  says  that  its  efforts  are  all  of  an  equivocal 
character,  and  that  its  aims  are  something  very  different  to 
peace.  It  is  a  cloak  for  communism.  "  But,"  he  concludes, 
"  certain  august  personages  have  even  now  no  idea  of  that. 
F'oreign  countries  and  peace  !  "  In  this  connection  he  referred 
to  the  influence  and  attitude  of  Queen  Augusta. 

Count  Bill,  according  to  the  Chief,  "looks  from  a  distance 
like  an  old  staff  officer,  he  is  so  stout.  He  was  very  lucky  in 
being  selected  to  accompany  Manteuffel.  Of  course,  it  would 
be  only  a  temporary  billet,  but  he  would  see  a  great  deal  of  the 
war.  For  his  age  he  has  a  good  opportunity  to  learn  some- 
thing. That  was  impossible  for  one  of  us  at  eighteen.  I  should 
have  been  born  in  1795  to  have  taken  part  in  the  campaign  of 

18 1 3."    "  Nevertheless  since  the  battle  of (I  could  not  catch 

the  name,  but  he  referred  apparently  to  an  engagement  in  the 
Huguenot  war)  there  was  not  one  of  my  ancestors  who  did  not 
draw  the  sword  against  France.  My  father  and  three  of  his 
brothers  were  engaged  against  Napoleon  I.  Then  my  grand- 
father fought  at  Rossbach  ;  my  great-grandfather  against  Louis 
XIV.,  and  his  father  against  the  same  King  in  the  little  war  on 
the  Rhine  in  1672  or  1673.  Then  several  of  us  fought  on  the 
imperial  side  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  others,  it  is  true,  joining 
the  Swedes.  And  finally  still  another  was  amongst  the  Ger- 
mans who  fought  as  mercenaries  on  the  Huguenot  side.  One 
—  there  is  a  picture  of  him  at  Schonhausen  with  his  children  — 
was  an  original  character.  I  still  have  a  letter  from  him  to  his 
brother-in-law  in  which  he  says,  '  The  cask  of  Rhine  wine  costs 
me  eighty  reichsthalers.  If  my  worthy  brother-in-law  considers 
that  too  dear  I  will,  so  God  spares  me,  drink  it  myself.'  And 
another  time :  '  If  my  worthy  brother-in-law  maintains  so-and- 
so,  I  hope,  so  God  preserves  me,  to  come  into  closer  contact 
with  his  person  than  will  be  pleasant  to  him.'  And  again  in 
another  place:  *I  have  spent  12,000  reichsthalers  on  the  regi- 

VOI,.  I.  —  z 


338  OFFICERS'    PERCJUISITES   IN    RUSSIA  [Jan.  io 

ment,  but  I  hope,  if  God  spares  me,  to  make  as  much  out  of  it  in 
time.'  The  economies  referred  to  consisted  probably  in  draw- 
ing pay  for  men  who  were  on  furlough  or  who  only  existed  on 
paper.  Certainly  the  commander  of  a  regiment  was  better  off 
at  that  time  than  now."  Some  one  observed  that  was  also  the 
rule  at  a  later  period,  so  long  as  regiments  were  recruited,  paid, 
and  clad  by  the  colonels  and  hired  by  the  Princes,  and  possibly 
the  same  thing  still  happened  in  other  countries.  The  Chief : 
"  Yes,  in  Russia  for  instance,  in  the  great  cavalry  regiments  in 
the  Southern  provinces  which  often  have  as  many  as  sixteen 
squadrons.  There  the  colonel  had,  and  doubtless  yet  has,  other 
sources  of  income.  A  German  once  told  me,  for  instance,  that 
on  a  new  colonel  taking  over  the  command  of  a  regiment, — I 
believe  it  was  in  Kursk  or  Woronesch,  —  the  peasants  of  this 
wealthy  district  came  to  him  with  waggons  full  of  straw  and 
hay,  and  begged  the  '  little  father '  to  be  gracious  enough  to 
accept  them.  '  I  did  not  know  what  they  wanted,'  said  the 
colonel,  and  so  I  told  them  to  be  off  and  leave  me  in  peace. 
But  the  '  little  father  '  ought  to  be  fair,  they  urged ;  his  predeces- 
sor had  been  satisfied  with  that  much,  and  they  could  not  give 
more,  as  they  were  poor  people.  At  length  I  got  tired  of  it, 
jiarticularly  as  they  became  very  pressing  and  went  down  on 
their  knees  entreating  me  to  accept  it,  and  I  had  them  bundled 
out  of  doors.  But  then  others  came  with  loads  of  wheat  and 
oats.  Then  I  understood  what  was  meant,  and  took  everything 
as  my  predecessor  had  done,  and  when  the  first  lot  returned 
with  more  hay  I  told  them  that  what  they  had  brought  before 
was  enough  and  they  could  take  back  the  rest.  And  thus  I 
secured  an  annual  sum  of  20,000  roubles,  as  I  charged  the  Gov- 
ernment for  the  hay  and  oats  required  by  the  regiment.'  He 
related  that  quite  frankly  and  unabashed  in  a  drawing-room  in 
St.  Petersburg,  and  I  was  the  only  one  who  was  surprised  at  it." 
"  Ikit  what  could  he  have  done  to  the  peasants  ? "  asked  Del- 
briick.  "  He  himself  could  have  done  nothing,"  replied  the 
Chief,  "  but  he  might  have  ruined  them  in  another  way.  He 
only  required  >iof  to  fc^'bid  the  soldiers  to  take  what  they  liked 
from  them." 

Manteuffel  was  again  spoken  of,  and  somebody  mentioned 
that  he  had  broken  his  leg  at  Mctz,  and  had  to  be  carried  on 
the  battlcfv-ld.      Manteuffel   was  greatly  surprised  that  we  had 


1871]  DII'LOMAIIC   CJAMIJLING  339 

not  known  this,  and  the  Minister  remarked  that  he  must  cer- 
tainly have  thouf!;ht  us  very  badly  informed  as  to  the  incidents 
of  the  war.  Later  on  the  Chief  said  :  "  I  remember  how  I  sat 
with  him  and ■  (I  did  not  catch  the  name)  on  the  stones  out- 
side the  Church  at  Blekstein.  The  King  came  up,  and  I  pro- 
posed that  we  should  greet  him  like  the  three  witches  in  Macbeth: 
'  Hail,  Thane  of  Lauenburg  !  Hail,  Thane  of  Kiel !  Hail,  Thane 
of  Schleswig ! '  It  was  when  I  was  negotiating  the  Treaty  of 
Gastcin  with  Blomc.  I  then  played  quinze  for  the  last  time  in 
my  life.  Although  I  had  not  played  then  for  a  long  time,  I 
gambled  recklessly,  so  that  the  others  were  astounded.  But  I 
knew  what  I  was  at.  Blome  had  heard  that  quinze  gave  the 
best  opportunity  of  testing  a  man's  character,  and  he  was 
anxious  to  try  the  experiment  on  me.  I  thought  to  myself,  I'll 
teach  him.  I  lost  a  few  hundred  thalers,  for  which  I  might 
well  have  claimed  reimbursement  from  the  State  as  having 
been  expended  on  his  Majesty's  service.  But  I  got  round 
Blome  in  that  way,  and  made  him  do  what  I  wanted.  He  took 
me  to  be  reckless,  and  yielded." 

The  conversation  then  turned  upon  Berlin,  some  one  having 
remarked  that  it  was  from  year  to  year  assuming  more  the 
appearance  of  a  great  capital,  also  in  its  sentiments  and  way  of 
thinking,  a  circumstance  which  to  some  extent  reacted  on  its 
Parliamentary  representatives.  "  They  have  greatly  altered 
during  the  last  five  years,"  said  Delbrlick.  "That  is  true,"  said 
the  Chief;  "but  in  1862,  when  I  first  had  to  deal  with  those 
gentlemen,  they  recognised  what  a  hearty  contempt  I  enter- 
tained for  them,  and  they  have  never  become  friends  with  me 
again." 

The  Jews  then  came  to  be  discussed,  and  the  Minister 
wished  to  know  how  it  was  that  the  name  Meier  was  so  common 
amongst  them.  That  name  was  after  all  of  German  origin,  and 
in  Westphalia  it  meant  a  landed  proprietor,  yet  formerly  the  Jews 
owned  no  land.  I  submitted  that  the  word  was  of  Hebrew 
origin  and  occurred  in  the  Old  Testament  and  also  in  the  Tal- 
mud, being  properly  Mei'r  and  akin  to  "  Or,"  z'.e.,  light,  brilliance, 
whence  the  signification  of  Enlightened,  Brilliant,  Radiant. 
The  Chief  then  inquired  the  meaning  of  Kohn,  a  name  very 
common  amongst  them  also.  I  said  it  signified  Priest,  and  was 
originally  Kohen.     From  Kohen  it  became  Kohn,  Kuhn,  Cahen, 


340  INTP:RMAKRIAGE   with   jews  [Jan.  io 

and  Kahn.  Kohn  and  Kahn  were  also  occasionally  transformed 
into  Hahn,  a  remark  which  caused  some  amusement,  as  it  prob- 
,ably  reminded  the  company  of  the  "  Presshahn,"  who  is  at  the 
head  of  the  Berlin  Literary  Bureau.  "  I  am  of  opinion,"  con- 
tinued the  Minister,  "  that  to  prevent  mischief,  the  Jews  will 
have  to  be  rendered  innocuous  by  cross-breeding.  The  results 
are  not  bad."  He  then  mentioned  some  noble  houses,  Lynars, 
Stirums,  Gusserows  :  "All  very  clever,  decent  people."  He 
then  reflected  for  a  while  and,  omitting  one  link  from  the  chain 
of  thought,  probably  the  marriage  of  distinguished  Christian 
ladies  to  rich  or  talented  Israelites,  he  proceeded :  "  It  is  better 
the  other  way  on.  One  ought  to  put  a  Jewish  mare  to  a  Chris- 
tian stallion  of  German  breed.  The  money  must  be  brought 
into  circulation  again,  and  the  race  is  not  at  all  bad.  I  do  not 
know  what  I  shall  one  day  advise  my  sons  to  do." 

I  spent  the  whole  time  after  dinner  at  work,  principally 
reading  despatches.  The  Rumanian  (Prince  Charles)  has  sent 
the  Chancellor  a  letter,  written  in  his  own  hand,  requesting 
advice  in  his  difficulties.  He  seems  to  be  in  the  greatest  per- 
plexity, and  the  Powers  will  not  help  him.  England  and  Austria 
are  at  least  indifferent,  the  Porte  is  inclined  to  look  upon  the 
unification  of  the  Principalities  as  to  its  interests,  France  is  now 
of  no  account,  the  Tsar  Alexander  is,  it  is  true,  well  disposed  to 
Prince  Charles  but  will  not  interfere,  and  intervention  on  the 
part  of  Germany,  who  has  no  practical  interests  in  Rumania, 
is  not  to  be  expected.  Therefore,  if  the  Prince  cannot  help 
himself  out  of  his  difficulties,  he  had  better  retire  before  he  is 
obliged  to.  Such  was  the  counsel  addressed  to  him  by  the 
Chief  through  Kcudell.  Beust  has  been  informed  of  this.  It 
would  appear  that  Beust's  despatch  in  reply  to  the  announce- 
ment of  the  approaching  union  of  South  Germany  with  the 
North  shows  a  new  departure  in  his  political  views,  and  it  is 
possible  that  even  under  him  satisfactory  relations  may  be 
developed  and  maintained  between  the  two  newly  organised 
Powers,  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary.  He  reported  that  a 
new  comic  paper,  Dir  Bismarck,  was  being  founded  in  Vienna, 
and  that  he  would  do  everything  in  his  power  to  prevent  this 
abuse  of  the  name.  The  Chief  has  recently  addressed  a  com- 
munication to  the  King  in  which  he  requests:  (i)  That  the 
telegrams  of  the  General  Staff  before  being  despatched  to  Ber- 


1S71J  MR.   (OC  KKRELL'S    MISAUVKNTUKKS  34I 

lin  should  be  submitted  to  him  and  his  approval  obtained,  as 
they  might  have  political  bearings — as,  for  example,  in  the  case 
of  the  shells  that  fell  in  the  Luxembourg  Gardens.  (2)  That 
he  should  receive  full  information  of  the  course  of  military 
operations,  instead  of  being  indebted  for  detailed  particulars  to 
the  newspapers  and  private  persons.  Subalterns  and  members 
of  the  Ambulance  Corps  were  kept  better  informed  than  he. 

At  10.30  i>.M.  the  Chief  comes  down  to  tea,  at  which  Count 
Bill  also  joins  us.  Abeken  returns  from  Court  and  brings  the 
news  that  the  fortress  of  Peronne,  with  a  garrison  of  3,000  men, 
has  capitulated.  The  Chief,  who  was  just  looking  through  the 
Illnstrirtc  Zeitung,  sighed  and  exclaimed  :  "  Another  3,000  !  If 
one  could  only  drown  them  in  the  Seine  —  or  at  least  their 
Commander,  who  has  broken  his  w^ord  of  honour !  " 

This  led  the  conversation  to  the  subject  of  the  numerous 
prisoners  in  Germany,  and  Holstein  said  it  would  be  a  good 
idea  to  hire  them  out  to  work  on  the  Stroussberg  railway. 
"Or,"  said  the  Chief,  "if  the  Tsar  could  be  induced  to  settle 
them  in  military  colonies  beyond  the  Caucasus.  It  is  said  to 
be  a  very  fine  country.  This  mass  of  prisoners  will  really  form 
a  difificulty  for  us  after  the  peace.  The  French  will  thus  have 
an  army  at  once,  and  one  fresh  from  a  long  rest.  But  there 
will  really  be  no  alternative.  We  shall  have  to  give  them  back 
to  Napoleon,  and  he  will  require  200,000  men  as  a  Pretorian 
Guard  to  maintain  himself."  "  Does  he  then  really  expect  to 
restore  the  Empire?"  asked  Holstein.  "Oh,  very  much,"  re- 
plied the  Chief,  "  extremely,  quite  enormously  much.  He  thinks 
of  it  day  and  night,  and  the  people  in  England  also." 

Holstein  then  related  how  certain  people  belonging  to  the 
English  Embassy  had  behaved  very  unbecomingly  outside  the 
place  where  the  French  prisoners  are  confined  in  Spandau,  and 
had  fared  badly  in  consequence.  Cockerell  was  knocked  down 
and  beaten  black  and  blue,  so  that  he  afterwards  looked  "  quite 
as  if  he  had  been  painted."  Loftus  did  not  at  first  want  to 
intervene,  but  was  ultimately  induced  by  the  other  diplomats 
to  enter  a  complaint.  "  Did  they  give  this  Cockerell  a  sound 
hiding.?"  a.sked  Count  Bill.     "Oh,  certainly,"  replied  Holstein, 

"  and  Miss (name  escaped  me),  who  tried  to  interfere  on 

his  behalf,  also  received  a  few  blows."  "Well,  I  am  glad 
Cockerell  got  a  proper  dressing,"  said   the  Chief,  "  it  will  do 


342  M.   CLEMENT   DUVERNOIS  [Jan.  12 

him  good,  I  am  sorry  for  the  lady.  But  it  is  a  pity  that 
Loftus  himself  did  not  get  thrashed  on  the  occasion,  as  we 
should  then  be  rid  of  him." 

Wednesday,  January  nth.  —  Bernstorff  reports  that  Clement 
Duvernois,  a  former  Minister  of  Napoleon,  wishes  to  come  here 
in  order  to  negotiate  for  peace  in  the  name  of  the  Empress. 
She  will  agree  in  principle  to  the  cession  of  territory  and  the 
new  frontier  demanded  by  us,  and  also  to  the  payment  of  a 
war  indemnity  and  the  occupation  of  a  certain  portion  of  France 
by  our  troops  until  it  is  paid,  and  will  promise  not  to  enter  into 
negotiations  respecting  peace  with  any  other  Power  than  Ger- 
many. Duvernois  is  of  opinion  that  although  the  Empress  is 
not  popular,  yet  she  would  act  energetically,  and  as  a  legal 
ruler  would  have  more  authority  and  offer  us  a  better  security 
than  any  person  elected  by  and  dependent  upon  the  representa- 
tives of  the  country.  Duvernois  assisted  in  provisioning  Paris 
and  accordingly  knows  that  it  must  surrender  shortly,  and 
therefore  as  time  presses,  he  is  anxious  to  hurry  on  negotiations. 
Will  he  be  received  if  he  comes  .■"  Perhaps,  if  only  in  order  to 
make  the  members  of  the  Government  in  Paris  and  Bordeaux 
more  yielding. 

During  dinner  the  bombardment  was  discussed,  as  is  now 
usually  the  case.  Paris  was  said  to  be  on  fire,  and  some  one 
had  clearly  seen  thick  columns  of  smoke  rising  over  the  city. 
"That  is  not  enough,"  said  the  Chief.  "We  must  first  smell 
it  here.  When  Hamburg  was  burning  the  smell  could  be 
distinguished  five  German  miles  off."  The  opposition  offered 
by  the  "  Patriots  "  in  the  Bavarian  Chamber  to  the  Versailles 
Treaty  was  then  referred  to.  The  Chief  said  :  "  I  wish  I  could 
go  there  and  speak  to  them.  They  have  obviously  got  into  a 
false  position  and  can  neither  advance  nor  retire.  I  have 
already  been  doing  my  best  to  bring  them  into  the  right  way. 
But  one  is  so  badly  wanted  here  in  order  to  prevent  absurdities 
and  to  preach  sense." 

Thursday,  January  \2th.  —  At  dinner  the  conversation  again 
turned  on  the  bombardment.  On  somebody  observing  that  the 
P>ench  complain  of  our  aiming  at  their  hospitals,  the  Chief 
said:  "That  is  certainly  not  done  intentionally.  They  have 
hospitals  near  the  Pantheon  and  the  Val  de  Grace,  and  it  is 
possible  that  a  few  shells  may  have  fallen  there  accidentally. 


1S71]  THE   IMrEKIAL    illLE  343 

H'm,  Pantheon,  Pandemonium?"  Abcken  had  heard  that  the 
Bavarians  intended  to  storm  one  of  the  south-eastern  forts  that 
had  returned  our  fire  in  a  weak  way.  The  Chief  commended 
the  Bavarians,  addinj]^ :  "If  I  were  only  in  Munich  now,  I 
would  brinp^  that  home  to  their  members  of  Parliament  in  such 
a  way  that  I  should  immediately  win  them  over  to  our  side." 

The  Chancellor  then  told  us  that  the  King  preferred  the 
title  "  PLmperor  of  Germany"  to  that  of  "German  PLmperor." 
"  I  gave  him  to  understand  that  I  did  not  care  a  brass  far- 
thing. He  was  of  a  different  opinion.  Rather  the  country  than 
the  people.  I  then  explained  to  him  that  the  first  would  be  a 
new  title  and  would  at  least  have  no  historical  basis.  There 
had  never  been  an  Emperor  of  Germany,  and  though  it  was 
true  there  had  also  been  no  German  Emperor,  there  had  been 
a  German  King."  Bucher  confirmed  that  statement  and  re- 
marked that  Charlemagne  assumed  the  title  of  "  Imperator 
Romanorum."  Subsequently  the  Emperor  was  called  "Impera- 
tor Romanus,  semper  augustus,  and  German  King." 

At  1 1  P.M.  the  King  sent  the  Chief  a  pencil  note  in  his  own 
handwriting  on  a  half  sheet  of  letter  paper,  informing  him  that 
we  had  just  won  a  great  victory  at  Le  Mans.  The  Minister, 
who  was  visibly  pleased  and  touched  at  this  attention,  said  as 
he  handed  me  the  slip  of  paper  in  order  that  I  should  telegraph 
the  news :  "  He  thinks  the  General  Staff  will  not  let  me  know, 
and  so  he  writes  himself." 

Friday,  January  I'^th.  —  Arnim  sends  a  florid  account  from 
Rome  of  the  visit  paid  by  Victor  Emmanuel  to  the  Eternal  City. 
He  mentions  a  report  received  from  the  Nuncio  at  Bordeaux 
respecting  an  attempt  by  the  Government  Delegation  in  that 
city  to  secure  the  intervention  of  the  Pope  for  the  purpose  of 
negotiating  a  peace.  The  Cardinal  in  communicating  this  to 
the  Minister  added  that  the  French  are  now  disposed  to  make 
greater  concessions  than  at  Ferrieres,  and  asked  if  in  principle 
the  Pope's  mediation  would  be  agreeable  to  us.  Arnim  replied 
that  the  French  Government  knew  our  conditions  and  could 
conclude  peace  at  any  time  on  that  basis.  Arnim  states  that 
the  efforts  made  by  the  Curia  on  behalf  of  peace  are  sincere, 
but  are  based  on  interested  motives.  The  Cardinal  asked  if  it 
was  not  intended  to  grant  France  any  compensation  for  the 
proposed  cession  of  territory,  whereupon  Arnim  replied  that  we 


344  THE   KING   AND   HIS   NEW   TITLE  [Jan.  13 

had  no  right  to  dispose  of  the  territory  of  other  States.  The 
Cardinal  obviously  had  Italy  in  view,  and  meant  that  France 
should  indemnify  herself  by  annexing  Piedmont  and  reinstating 
the  Pope  in  Rome.  The  despatch  concludes  as  follows  :  "  My 
presence  here  complicates  our  position,  as  it  awakens  hopes 
that  cannot  be  realised,  and  maintains  intimate  relations  that 
clog  our  footsteps  without  making  the  ground  upon  which  we 
stand  any  firmer."  Thile  reports  that  Queen  Augusta  told  him 
the  sinking  of  the  English  coal  ships  near  Rouen  had  made 
more  bad  blood  in  England  than  was  believed  here.  The 
Crown  Princess  knew  from  the  letters  of  her  mother  that  sym- 
pathy for  our  cause  was  daily  decreasing  there.  Thile  replied 
that  he  was  surprised  to  hear  it,  as  Bernstorff  made  no  mention 
of  it. 

We  are  joined  at  dinner  by  Regierungsprasident  von  Ernst- 
hauscn,  a  portly  gentleman,  still  young,  and  by  the  Chief,  who 
is  to  dine  with  the  Crown  Prince,  and  only  remains  until  the 
Varzin  ham  comes  to  table,  of  which  he  partakes  "  for  the  sake 
of  home  memories."  Turning  to  Ernsthausen,  he  says:  "I  am 
invited  to  the  Crown  Prince's,  but  before  going  there  I  have 
another  important  interview  for  which  I  must  strengthen  my- 
self." "  Wednesday  will  be  the  i8th,  and  the  Festival  of  the 
Orders,  so  we  can  publish  the  proclamation  to  the  German  peo- 
ple on  that  day."  (The  Proclamation  of  Emperor  and  Emj^ire, 
upon  which  Bucher  is  now  at  work.)  (To  Ernsthausen  : )  "The 
King  is  still  in  doubt  about  'German  Emperor'  or  '  Emperor  of 
Germany.'  He  inclines  to  the  latter.  But  it  does  not  appear 
to  me  that  there  is  much  difference  between  the  two  titles.  It 
is  like  the  Ilomousios  or  Homoiousios  in  the  Councils  of  the 
Church."  Abckcn  corrected:  "Homousios."  The  Chief:  "We 
pronounce  it  oi.  In  Sa.xony  they  have  the  lotacism.  I  remem- 
ber in  our  schcjol  there  was  a  pupil  from  Chemnitz  who  read 
that  way"  fand  he  then  quoted  a  Greek  sentence),  "but  the 
teacher  said  to  him  'Stop!  That  won't  do!  We  don't  hail 
here  from  Saxony.'  " 

After  dinner  I  read  the  latest  despatches  and  some  older 
drafts.  Those  of  special  interest  were  instructions  from  the 
Chief  to  the  Minister  of  Commerce  that  the  amount  exj)endc(l 
for  the  provisioning  of  Paris  could  not  be  included  in  the  Hud- 
get,   and  a  memorandum  in  which  Moltkr;  defended  the  su])ply 


1S71J  rRANSl'OKTAl'lO.N'    DIFKICUI.riliS  345 

of  provisions  for  the  Parisians.  The  2,800  waggons  with  i)r()- 
visions  were,  he  says,  not  intended  solely  for,  the  Parisians,  but 
also  for  our  own  troops — for  the  former  seven  million  rations 
of  two  pounds  eaeh  for  three  days  — and  it  would  be  well  if 
there  were  still  more  waggons  in  France.  The  Chief  returned 
from  the  Crown  Prince's  at  9.30  p.m.,  and  shortly  afterwards  he 
instructed  me  to  telegraph  that  we  had  made  8,000  prisoners  at 
Le  Mans,  and  captured  twelve  guns,  and  that  Gambetta,  who 
wished  to  be  present  at  the  battle,  nearly  fell  into  our  hands,  but 
just  made  his  escape  in  time.  Afterwards  I  cut  out  Unruh's 
speech  dealing  with  the  scarcity  of  locomotives  on  the  Ger- 
man railways,  for  submission  to  the  King. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

LAST    WEEKS    BEFORE    THE    CAPITULATION    OF    PARIS 

SaUirday,  January  i^th.  —  Count  Lehndorff  dined  with  us 
to-day.  The  Chief  mentions  that  Jules  Favre  has  written  to 
him.  He  wishes  to  go  to  the  Conference  in  London,  and 
asserts  that  he  only  ascertained  on  the  loth  inst.  that  a  safe 
conduct  was  held  in  readiness  for  him.  He  desires  to  take  with 
him  an  unmarried  and  a  married  daughter,  together  with  her 
husband  —  who  has  a  Spanish  name — ^  and  a  secretary.  "He 
would  doubtless  prefer  a  pass  for  M.  le  Ministre  et  suite.  He 
has  the  longing  of  a  vagabond  for  a  passport."  But  he  is  not 
to  receive  one  at  all,  the  soldiers  being  simply  instructed  to  let 
him  through.  Buchcr  is  to  write  that  it  will  be  best  for  him  to 
go  by  way  of  Corbeil,  as  he  will  not  then  have  to  leave  the  car- 
riage which  he  brings  from  Paris  and  to  walk  for  some  way  on 
foot,  afterwards  taking  another  carriage.  His  best  route  will 
also  be  by  Lagny  and  Metz,  and  not  by  Amiens.  If  he  does 
not  wish  to  go  by  way  of  Corbeil  he  is  to  say  so,  and  then  the 
military  authorities  will  be  instructed  accordingly.  "  One  would 
be  inclined  to  think,"  added  the  Chief,  "from  his  desire  to  take 
his  family  with  him,  that  he  wants  to  get  out  of  harm's, way." 

In  the  further  course  of  conversation  the  Minister  observed: 
"  Versailles  is  really  the  most  unsuitable  place  that  could  have 
been  chosen  from  the  j)oint  of  view  of  communications.  We 
ought  to  have  remained  at  Lagny  or  Ferrieres.  But  I  know 
well  why  it  was  selected.  All  our  princely  i:>ersonages  would 
have  found  it  too  dull  there.  It  is  true  they  are  bored  here 
too,  and  doubtless  everywhere  else." 

The  Chief  then  went  on  to  talk  of  German  Princes  in  gen- 
eral, and  said  :  "  Originally  they  were  all  Counts,  that  is  to  say, 
officials  of  the  Lm]:)ire.  The  Zehringers,  it  is  true,  are  an  old 
Princely  family  —  ajiart  from  any  fresh  blood  that  has  been 
infused  into  the  stock.     The  Austrian  ]'ri:i;;es  and  Counts  have 


Jan,  14,  1.S71J  BISMARCK    AND    MAXTEIUIMIL  347 

only  become  rich  and  powerful  throun^h  p;rants  of  confiscated 
estates.  The  Schwarzenberj^s,  for  instance,  throu<^h  the  prop- 
erty of  a  gentleman  with  a  very  unajjpetising  name  —  Schmier- 
sicki."  The  Chancellor  then  went  into  further  particulars,  and 
continued:  "  They  (the  Hapsbur<j^s)  were  grateful  for  services 
rendered  to  them,  and  rewarded  their  people  with  rich  grants. 
It  was  different  with  us.  Our  nobles  were  squeezed.  Any  one 
who  had  large  estates  was  forced  to  give  them  up  or  to  make  a 
bad  exchange." 

The  Chancellor  afterwards  spoke  about  Manteuffel,  and 
said:  "He  is  now  heaping  up  coals  of  fire  on  my  head  by  taking 
Bill  with  him.  We  were  on  bad  terms  during  the  last  few  years. 
One  of  the  reasons  was  his  extravagance  in  Schleswig.  He  kept 
a  regular  Court  there,  and  gave  great  dinners  of  forty  to  fifty 
covers,  spending  three  to  four  thousand  thalers  a  month.  That 
was  all  very  well  before  the  war,  but  later  on,  when  I  had  to 
account  for  it  to  the  Treasury  Committee,  it  could  not  go  on, 
and  when  I  had  to  tell  him  so,  he  was  angry." 

After  dinner  I  wrote  an  article  for  the  Moiiitcur,  under 
instructions  from  the  Chief,  respecting  the  difficulty  of  pro- 
visioning Paris  when  it  surrenders.  It  ran  thus  :  "  We  find  the 
following  paragraph  on  the  provisioning  of  Paris  in  Xkio.  Journal 
Officicl:  'According  to  a  despatch  from  Bordeaux,  dated  Janu- 
ary 3rd,  the  Government  of  National  Defence  has  collected  a 
large  quantity  of  necessaries  in  view  of  furnishing  Paris  with  a 
fresh  supply  of  provisions.  In  addition  to  the  markets  now  in 
course  of  erection  there  is  already  collected,  near  the  means 
of  transport  and  beyond  the  range  of  the  enemy's  operation,  a 
mass  of  supplies  that  only  wait  the  first  signal  to  be  despatched.' 
When  this  question  of  reprovisioning  Paris  is  considered  from 
a  practical  point  of  view,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  bristles  with 
serious  difficulties.  If  the  statement  of  the  Journal  Officiel 
that  the  stores  are  beyond  the  range  of  the  German  sphere  of 
action  be  correct,  it  must  be  taken  that  they  are  some  200  miles 
away  from  Paris.  Now  the  condition  to  which  the  railways  lead- 
ing to  Paris  have  been  reduced  by  the  French  themselves  is  such 
that  it  would  require  several  weeks  at  least  to  transport  such  a 
quantity  of  provisions  to  Paris.  There  is  another  consideration 
which  must  also  not  be  overlooked,  namely,  that  in  addition  to 
the  famishing  population  of  Paris,  the  German  army  has  a  right 


348  COUNT  ANDRASSY  [Jan.  15 

to  see  that  its  supplies  are  replenished  by  the  railways,  and  that 
consequently  the  German  officials  with  the  best  will  in  the 
world  can  only  spare  a  portion  of  the  rolling  stock  to  be  em- 
ployed in  reprovisioning  Paris.  It  follows  that  if  the  Parisians 
put  off  the  surrender  of  the  city  until  they  have  eaten  their  last 
mouthful  of  bread,  believing  that  large  supplies  are  within  easy 
reach,  a  fatal  blunder  may  be  committed.  We  trust  that  the 
Government  of  National  Defence  will  very  seriously  consider 
the  circumstances,  and  weigh  well  the  heavy  responsibility  it 
incurs  in  adopting  the  principle  of  resistance  to  the  bitter  end. 
Every  day  increases  instead  of  lessening  the  distance  between 
the  capital  and  the  provincial  armies,  whose  approach  is 
awaited  with  so  much  impatience  in  Paris,  which  is  closely 
invested  and  entirely  cut  off  from  the  outer  w^orld.  Paris  can- 
not be  rescued  by  fictitious  reports.  To  suppose  that  it  can 
wait  till  the  last  moment,  for  the  simple  reason  that  neither  the 
provinces  nor  the  enemy  could  allow  a  city  of  two  and  a  half 
million  inhabitants  to  starve,  might  prove  to  be  a  terrible  mis- 
calculation, owing  to  the  absolute  impossibility  of  preventing  it. 
The  capitulation  of  Paris  at  the  very  last  hour  might  —  which 
God  forbid! — be  the  commencement  of  a  really  great  calamity." 

Sunday,  January  15///.  —  Rather  bright,  cold  weather.  The 
firing  is  less  vigorous  than  during  the  last  few  days.  The  Chief 
slept  badly  last  night,  and  had  Wollmann  called  up  at  4  a.m.  in 
order  to  telegraph  to  London  respecting  Favre.  In  the  morn- 
ing read  despatches.  Andrassy,  the  Hungarian  Premier,  de- 
clared to  our  Ambassador  in  Vienna  that  he  not  only  approved 
of  Heust's  despatch  of  December  26th  and  shared  the  views 
therein  expressed  resjiecting  the  new  Germany,  but  had  desired 
and  recommended  such  a  policy  all  along.  He  had  "always 
said  we  should  reach  out  our  hand  to  Germany  and  shake  our 
fist  at  Russia."  The  reservation  at  the  commencement  of  the 
document  in  question  might  have  been  omitted,  as  the  reor- 
ganisation of  Germany  does  not  affect  the  Treaty  of  Prague. 

The  letters  in  which  the  German  Princes  declare  their  ap- 
proval of  the  King  of  liavaria's  proposal  for  the  restoration  of 
the  imperial  dignity  all  express  practically  the  same  views. 
Only  the  elder  line  of  the  Reuss  family  was  moved  to  base  its 
consent  upon  different  grounds.  It  regards  the  imjicrial  title 
as  "an  Mrninvntnl  badge  nf  the  dignity  of  the  P^ederal   Com- 


1871J  Ll-HTERS    I'RO.M    TlIK   (iERMAN    PRINCES  349 

mandcr-in-Chief,  and  of  the  ri<;ht  of  Presidency."  The  letter 
then  continues,  literally:  "I  do  this"  (that  is,  approve),  "fully 
confident  that  the  hestovval  of  this  dignity  upon  his  Majesty  the 
King  of  Prussia  will  not  affect  the  newly  established  relations 
of  the  Confederation."  Oberregierungsrath  Wagner  drafted 
the  answers  to  these  letters  of  approval,  as  also  the  proclama- 
tion to  the  German  people  concerning  the  Emperor  and  the 
P2mpire,  which  is  to  be  published  shortly.  I  hear  that  he  some- 
times draws  up  the  speech  from  the  throne,  as  he  has  a  certain 
loftiness  of  style  which  the  Chief  likes.  Read  a  letter  from 
King  William  to  the  Chancellor  written  in  his  own  hand. 
Contents:  On  the  lOth  of  January  Prince  Luitpold  requested 
an  audience  of  our  Majesty.  This  was  granted  to  him  before 
dinner.  The  Prince  then  delivered  a  message  from  the  King  of 
Bavaria,  suggesting  that  the  Bavarian  army  should  be  relieved 
from  taking  the  military  oath  of  obedience  to  the  Federal  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, and  that  the  stipulation  to  that  effect  should 
be  struck  out  of  the  treaty  with  Bavaria.  The  Prince  urged,  as 
an  argument  in  support  of  this  proposal,  that  such  a  stipulation 
as  that  in  question  limited  the  sovereignty  of  the  King  of  Ba- 
varia. No  such  obligation  had  been  imposed  upon  the  South 
German  States  during  the  present  war,  and  the  obedience  and 
loyalty  of  the  Bavarian  army  might  be  taken  as  a  matter  of 
course  in  the  united  Germany  of  the  future.  He  also  observed 
incidentally  that  the  reason  why  the  dissatisfaction  in  Bavaria 
was  so  great  was  because  it  had  been  hoped  that  the  imperial 
dignity  would  be  held  alternately  by  Bavaria  and  Prussia.  The 
King  replied  that  he  could  not  give  an  immediate  answer  to 
this  unforeseen  demand  ;  he  must  first  look  through  the  treaties. 
For  the  moment  he  could  only  say  that  by  yielding  in  the  matter 
of  the  military  oath  he  would  offend  the  other  Princes,  and  that 
they  might  put  forward  a  similar  demand,  which  would  loosen 
the  ties  that  were  to  bind  the  new  Germany  together.  That 
would  necessarily  damage  the  King  of  Bavaria's  position  in 
particular,  as  the  concessions  made  to  Bavaria  were  already 
regarded  with  great  disfavour  by  public  opinion.  King  W^illiam 
writes  that  he  said  nothing  whatever  about  the  alternation 
of  the  imperial  dignity.  The  Chief  telegraphed  to  Werther 
(Minister  at  Munich)  that  the  proposal  respecting  the  military 
oath  could   not  be  entertained. 


350  TROCllU'S   LhTlER  TO   MOLTKE  [Jan.  16 

The  Chief  dined  with  the  King  to-day.  Nothing  worthy  of 
note  wa.s  said  at  our  tabic.  After  dinner  I  again  read  drafts 
and  despatches.  Amongst  the  latter  was  a  letter  from  King 
Lewis  to  the  Chancellor,  in  which  he  thanks  the  Minister  for 
his  good  wishes  for  the  new  year,  and  reciprocates  them.  He 
then  claims  an  extension  of  territory  on  the  ground  of  the  im- 
portance of  Bavaria  and  the  gallant  cooperation  of  her  troops. 
From  the  construction  of  the  sentence  it  is  not  quite  clear 
whether  this  extension  of  territory  is  intended  for  Bavaria  her- 
self, but  very  probably  it  is. 

Called  to  the  Chief  at  9  p.m.  I  am  to  write  an  article,  based 
upon  ofificial  documents,  on  our  position  towards  American  ships 
conveying  contraband  of  war.  In  doing  so  I  am  to  be  guided 
by  the  13th  article  of  the  Treaty  of  1799.  We  cannot  seize 
such  vessels,  but  only  detain  them,  or  seize  the  contraband 
goods,  for  which  a  receipt  must  be  given,  and  in  both  cases  we 
must  make  fair  compensation. 

Monday,  January  \6th. — Thawing.  A  dull  sky,  with  a 
strong  south-west  wind.  It  is  again  impossible  to  see  far,  but 
no  further  shots  arc  heard  since  yesterday  afternoon.  Has  the 
bombardment  stopped  .-'  Or  does  the  wind  prevent  the  sound 
from  reaching  us  .-* 

In  the  morning  I  read  Trochu's  letter  to  Moltke,  in  which 
he  complains  that  our  j^rojectiles  have  struck  the  hospitals  in 
the  south  of  Paris,  although  flags  were  hung  out  indicating 
their  character.  He  is  of  opinion  that  this  cannot  have  been 
by  accident,  and  calls  attention  to  the  international  treaties 
according  to  which  such  institutions  arc  to  be  held  inviolable. 
Moltke  strf)ngly  resented  the  idea  of  its  having  been  in  any  way 
intentional.  The  humane  manner  in  which  we  have  conducted 
the  war,  "  so  far  as  the  character  which  was  given  to  it  by  the 
French  since  the  4th  of  .September  permitted,"  secured  us 
against  any  such  suspicion.  As  soon  as  a  clearer  atmosphere 
and  greater  proximity  to  Paris  enabled  us  to  recognise  the 
Geneva  flag  on  the  buildings  in  question,  it  might  be  possible  to 
avoid  even  accidental  injury.  Treitschke  writes  requesting  me 
to  ask  the  Chief  if,  in  view  of  his  deafness,  he  should  allow 
himself  to  be  elected  for  tlie  Reichstag.  I  lay  the  letter  before 
the  Minister,  who  says  :  "He  must  know  from  experience  how 
lir  his  infirmity  is  a  hindrance.      P^jr  my   part,  I   should  be  ex- 


1S71I  I'AVKK    ASKS    FOR    A    I'ASS  35  1 

trcmcly  pleased  if  he  were  elected.     Write  him  to  that  effect. 
Only  he  should  not  si)eak  too  much." 

Prince  Pless  and  Maltzahn  dine  with  us.  We  learn  that  the 
proclamation  to  the  German  people  is  to  be  read  the  day  after 
to-morrow,  at  the  Festival  of  the  Orders,  which  will  be  held  in 
the  Galerie  des  Glaces  at  the  Palace.  There,  in  the  midst  of 
a  brilliant  assembly,  the  King  will  be  proclaimed  Emperor. 
Detachments  of  troops  with  their  flags,  the  generals,  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Confederation,  and  a  number  of  princely  person- 
ages will  attend.  The  Chief  has  altered  his  mind  as  to  letting 
Favre  pass  through  our  lines,  and  has  written  him  a  letter  which 
amounts  to  a  refusal.  "  Favre,"  he  said,  "  with  his  demand  to 
be  allowed  to  attend  the  Conference  in  London,  reminds  me  of 
the  way  children  play  the  game  of  Fox  in  the  Hole.  They 
'  touch  '  and  then  run  off  to  a  place  where  they  cannot  be 
caught.  But  he  must  swallow  the  potion  he  has  brewed.  His 
honour  requires  it,  and  so  I  wrote  him."  This  change  of  view 
was  due  to  Favre's  circular  of  the  12th  of  January.  Later  on, 
the  Chief  said  he  believed  he  was  going  to  have  an  attack  of 
gout.  Altogether  he  was  not  in  good  humour.  While  he  was 
reckoning  up  the  fortresses  taken  by  us,  Holstein  addressed  a 
remark  to  him.  The  Chief  looked  straight  at  him  with  his  large 
grey  eyes,  and  said  in  a  dry  cutting  tone  :  "  One  should  not  be 
interrupted  when  engaged  in  counting.  I  have  now  lost  count 
altogether.     What  you  want  to  say  might  be  said  later." 

I  here  introduce  a  survey  of  this  incident,  with  particulars  of 
documents  which  afterwards  came  to  my  knowledge. 

Favre,  as  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  was  informed  on  the 
17th  of  November  (in  a  despatch  from  Chaudordy,  dated  from 
Tours,  on  the  i  ith  cf  the  month),  that  it  had  been  reported  from 
Vienna,  that  the  Russian  Government  no  longer  considered 
itself  bound  by  the  stipulations  of  the  Treaty  of  1856.  Favre 
replied  immediately.  While  recommending  the  strictest  reserve, 
until  the  receipt  of  official  information,  he  said  that  no  oppor- 
tunity should  be  neglected  of  emphasising  the  right  of  France 
to  take  part  in  such  international  deliberations  as  the  Russian 
declaration  might  provoke.  Negotiations  were  then  conducted, 
both  verbally  and  in  writing,  between  the  various  Powers  and 
the  French   Provisional  Government,  in  which  the  French  en- 


352  FRANCE   AND   THE   LONDON   COXFEREXCE  [Jan.  i6 

deav^oLired  to  induce  the  representatives  of  those  Powers  to  admit 
the  justice  of  their  contention,  that  the  representatives  of  France 
"  would  be  bound  in  duty  to  bring  up  at  the  same  time  for  dis- 
cussion another  matter  of  entirely  different  import."  The  Dele- 
gation at  Tours,  while  giving  expression  to  these  views,  was  of 
opinion  that  any  invitation  given  by  Europe  should  be  accepted, 
even  should  no  promise  be  obtained  beforehand,  nor  even  an 
armistice.  On  the  31st  of  December,  Gambctta  wrote  to 
Favre  :  "  You  must  be  prepared  to  leave  Paris,  to  attend  the 
London  Conference,  if,  as  is  stated,  England  has  succeeded  in 
obtaining  a  passport."  Before  this  communication  arrived, 
Favre  had  announced  to  Chaudordy  that  the  Government  had 
decided  that  France,  "if  called  upon  in  regular  form"  would 
send  a  representative  to  the  London  Conference,  provided  its 
Parisian  representatives,  who  were  verbally  invited  by  England, 
were  supplied  with  the  necessary  passport.  To  this  the  Eng- 
lish Cabinet  agreed,  and  Chaudordy  informed  Favre  in  a  de- 
spatch which  arrived  in  Paris  on  the  8th  of  January,  and  also 
contained  the  announcement  that  he,  Favre,  had  been  appointed 
by  the  Government  to  represent  France  at  the  Conference. 
This  communication  was  confirmed  in  a  letter  from  Lord  Gran- 
ville to  Favre,  dated  the  29th  of  December,  and  received  in 
Paris  on  the  lOth  of  January,  which  ran  as  follows  :  — 

"  M.  de  Chaudordy  has  informed  Lord  Lyons  that  your 
Excellency  has  been  proposed  as  the  representative  of  I'rance 
at  the  Conference.  He  has  at  the  same  time  requested  that  I 
should  procure  a  passport  permitting  your  Excellency  to  go 
through  the  Prussian  lines.  I  immediately  requested  Count 
Pernstorff  to  ask  for  such  a  passport,  and  to  send  it  to  you  by  a 
German  officer  with  a  flag  of  truce.  I  was  informed  yesterday 
by  Count  Bernstorff  that  a  passport  will  be  at  your  Plxccl- 
lency's  disposal  on  its  being  demanded  at  the  German  head- 
quarters by  an  officer  despatched  from  Paris  for  the  purpose. 
He  added  that  it  cannot  be  delivered  by  a  German  officer,  so 
long  as  satisfaction  is  not  given  to  the  officer  who  was  fired  at 
while  acting  as  the  bearer  of  a  flag  of  truce.  I  am  informed 
by  M.  Tissot  that  much  time  would  be  lo.st  before  this  commu- 
nication could  be  forwarded  to  you  by  the  delegation  at  Bor- 
deaux, and  I  have  accordingly  ])roposed  to  Count  Bernstorff 
another  way  in  which  it  may  be  transmitted  to  you.      Request- 


usyij  'inK  fri:m:ii  (  ikcular  353 

'u\<^  your  Excellency  to  permit  me  to  take  this  opportunity  of 
expressinj^  my  satistaction  at  entering  into  personal  communica- 
tion with  you,"  &c. 

Favre  regarded  the  last  sentence  in  this  letter  as  a  recogni- 
tion of  the  present  French  Government,  and  an  invitation  that 
he  might  take  advantage  of  to  address  the  Powers  in  London 
on  French  affairs.  In  the  circular  of  the  12th  of  January  which 
he  addressed  to  the  French  Ministers,  he  says:  — 

"  The  Government,  directly  invited  in  this  despatch,  cannot, 
without  surrendering  the  rights  of  France,  refuse  the  invitation 
thus  conveyed  to  her.  It  may  certainly  be  objected  that  the 
time  for  a  discussion  concerning  the  neutralisation  of  the  Black 
Sea  has  not  been  happily  chosen.  But  the  very  fact  that  the 
European  Powers  should  thus  have  entered  into  relations  with 
the  P^rench  Republic  at  the  present  decisive  moment  when 
France  is  fighting  single-handed  for  her  honour  and  existence, 
lends  it  an  exceptional  significance.  It  is  the  commencement 
of  a  tardy  exercise  of  justice,  an  obligation  which  cannot  again 
be  renounced.  It  endues  the  change  of  Government  with  the 
authority  of  international  law,  and  leaves  a  nation  which  is  free 
notwithstanding  its  wounds  to  appear  in  an  independent  posi- 
tion upon  the  stage  of  the  world's  history,  face  to  face  with  the 
ruler  who  led  it  to  its  ruin,  and  the  Pretenders  who  desire  to 
reduce  it  into  subjection  to  themselves.  Furthermore,  who  does 
not  feel  that  France,  admitted  to  a  place  amongst  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Europe,  has  an  unquestionable  right  to  raise  her 
voice  in  that  council  ?  Who  can  prevent  her,  supported  by 
the  eternal  laws  of  justice,  from  defending  the  principles  that 
secure  her  independence  and  dignity  ?  She  will  surrender  none 
of  those  principles.  Our  programme  remains  unaltered,  and 
Europe,  who  has  invited  the  man  who  promulgated  that  pro- 
gramme, knows  very  well  that  it  is  his  determination  and  duty 
to  maintain  it.  There  should,  therefore,  be  no  hesitation,  and 
the  Government  would  have  committed  a  grave  error  if  it  had 
declined  the  overtures  made  to  it. 

"  While  recognising  that  fact,  however,  the  Government 
consider,  as  I  do,  that  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  should 
not  leave  Paris  during  the  bombardment  of  the  city  by  the 
enemy,  unless  greater  interests  were  at  stake."  (Then  follows 
a  long  sentimental  lamentation  as  to  the  damage  caused  by  the 

\'OL.  I.  —  2  A 


354  l-AVKE'S    REl'lA"    TO    LORD    GRANVILLE  [Jan.  lO 

"  rage  of  the  aggressor "  in  throwing  bombs  into  churches, 
hospitals,  nurseries,  &c.,  with  the  intention  of  "  spreading 
terror."  The  document  then  proceeds  :)  "  Our  brave  Parisian 
population  feels  its  courage  rise  as  the  danger  increases.  Thus 
exasperated  and  indignant,  but  animated  by  a  firm  resolve,  it 
will  not  yield.  The  people  are  more  determined  than  ever  to 
fight  and  conquer,  and  we  also.  /  cannot  tJiink  of  separating 
myself  froni  tJiem  during  this  crisis.  Perhaps  it  will  soon  be 
brought  to  a  close  by  the  protests  addressed  to  Europe  and  to 
the  members  of  the  Corps  Diplomatique  present  in  Paris. 
England  zuill  u)idcrstand  that  until  then  viy  place  is  in  the  midst 
of  my  felloiv-citizcns. 

Favre  made  the  same  declaration,  or  rather  the  first  half  of 
it,  two  days  before  in  the  reply  sent  to  Granville's  despatch,  in 
which  he  says :  "  I  cannot  assume  the  right  to  leave  my  fellow- 
citizens  at  a  moment  when  they  are  subjected  to  such  acts  of 
violence  "  (against  "an  unarmed  population,"  as  —  in  the  line 
immediately  preceding  —  he  describes  a  strong  fortress  with  a 
garrison  of  about  200,000  soldiers  and  militia).  He  then  con- 
tinues :  "  Communications  between  Paris  and  London,  thanks 
to  those  in  command  of  the  besieging  forces"  (what  naivete!) 
"  are  so  slow  and  uncertain  that  with  the  best  will  I  cannot  act 
in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  invitation  contained  in  your 
despatch.  You  have  given  me  to  understand  that  the  Con- 
ference will  meet  on  the  3rd  of  February,  and  will  then  probably 
adjourn  for  a  week.  Having  received  this  information  on  the 
evening  of  the  loth  of  January,  I  should  not  be  able  to  avail 
myself  in  time  of  your  invitation.  Besides,  M.  de  Bismarck,  in 
forwarding  the  despatch,  did  not  enclose  the  passport,  which, 
nevertheless,  is  absolutely  essential.  He  demands  that  a  French 
officer  shall  proceed  to  the  German  headcjuarters  to  receive  it, 
on  the  plea  of  a  complaint  addressed  to  the  Governor  of  Paris, 
with  regard  to  the  treatment  of  the  bearer  of  a  flag  of  truce,  an 
incident  which  occurred  on  the  23rd  of  December.  M.  de 
Bismarck  adds  that  the  Prussian  Commander-in-Chief  has  for- 
bidden all  communication  under  flags  of  truce  until  satisfaction 
is  given  for  the  incident  in  question.  I  do  not  inquire  whether 
such  a  decision,  contrar)-  lo  tlic  laws  of  war,  is  not  an  absolute 
'Iriiial  of  a  higher  right,  always  hitherto  maintained  in  the  con- 
tir.ct  of  hostilities,  which  reci-Miis's  the  exi!/encics  oi  a  situation 


1S71J  A  i'Ki:N(-ir  rkoTKST  355 

aiul  the  claims  of  humane  feeling.  T  confine  myself  to  inform- 
ing your  Excellency  that  the  Governor  of  Paris  hastened  to 
order  an  inquiry  into  the  incident  referred  to  by  M.  de  Bismarck, 
and  that  this  inquiry  brought  to  his  knowledge  much  more 
numerous  instances  of  similar  conduct  on  the  part  of  Prussian 
sentries  which  had  never  been  made  a  pretext  for  interrupting  the 
usual  exchange  of  communications.  M.  de  Bismarck  appears 
to  have  acknowledged  the  accuracy  of  these  remarks,  at  least 
in  part,  as  he  has  to-day  commissioned  the  United  States 
Minister  to  inform  me  that,  with  the  reservation  of  inquiries 
on  both  sides,  he  to-day  reestablishes  communications  under 
flags  of  truce.  There  is,  therefore,  no  necessity  for  a  French 
officer  to  go  to  the  Prussian  headquarters.  I  will  put  myself 
in  communication  with  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  the  passport  which  you  have  obtained 
for  me.  As  soon  as  it  reaches  my  hands,  and  the  situation  in 
Paris  permits  mc,  I  shall  proceed  to  London,  confident  that  I 
shall  not  appeal  in  vain  in  the  name  of  my  Government  to  the 
principles  of  justice  and  morality,  in  securing  due  regard  for 
which  Europe  has  such  a  great  interest." 

So  far  M.  Favre.  The  condition  of  Paris  had  not  altered, 
the  protests  addressed  to  Europe  had  not  put  an  end  to  the 
crisis,  nor  could  they  have  done  so,  when  Favre,  on  January 
13th,  that  is,  three  days  after  the  letter  to  Granville,  and  on 
the  day  of  the  issue  of  his  circular  to  the  representatives  of 
France  abroad,  sent  the  following  despatch  to  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Confederation  :  — 

"  M.  le  Comte,  —  Lord  Granville  informs  me  in  his  despatch 
of  December  29th,  which  I  received  on  the  evening  of  January 
loth,  that  your  Excellency,  at  the  request  of  the  English  Cabi- 
net, holds  a  passport  at  my  disposal  which  is  necessary  to  enable 
the  French  Plenipotentiary  to  the  London  Conference  to  pass 
through  the  Prussian  lines.  As  I  have  been  appointed  to  that 
office,  I  have  the  honour  to  request  your  Excellency  to  give 
instructions  to  have  this  passport,  made  out  in  my  name,  sent  to 
me  as  speedily  as  possible." 

I  reproduce  all  these  solely  with  the  object  of  illustrating 
the  great  difference  between  the  character  and  capacity  of 
Favre  and  of  Bismarck.  Compare  the  foregoing  documents 
with  those  which  the  Chancellor  drafted.     In  the  former,  in- 


356  BlSMAReKS    RKl'LY   TO    FAVKE  [Jan.  17 

decision,  equivocation,  affectation,  and  fine  j'jhrases,  ending  in 
the  very  opposite  of  what  had  been  emphatically  laid  down  a 
few  lines  or  a  few  days  previously.  In  the  latter,  on  the  con- 
trary, decision,  simplicity,  and  a  natural  and  purely  business- 
like manner.  On  January  i6th  the  Chancellor  replied  to  Favre 
as  follows  (omitting  the  introductory  phrases):  — 

"  Your  Excellency  understands  that,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
Government  of  Great  Britain,  I  hold  a  passport  at  your  disposal 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  you  to  take  part  in  the  London 
Conference.  That  supposition  is,  however,  not  correct.  I  could 
not  enter  into  official  negotiations,  which  would  be  based  on  the 
presupposition  that  the  Government  of  National  Defence  is, 
according  to  international  law,  in  a  position  to  act  in  the  name 
of  France,  so  long  at  least  as  it  has  not  been  recognised  by  the 
French  nation  itself. 

"  I  presume  that  the  officer  in  command  of  our  outposts 
would  have  granted  your  Excellency  permission  to  pass  through 
the  German  lines  if  your  Mxcellency  had  applied  for  the  same 
at  the  headquarters  of  the  besieging  forces.  The  latter  would 
have  had  no  reason  to  take  your  Excellency's  political  position 
and  the  object  of  your  journey  into  consideration,  and  the  au- 
thorisation granted  by  the  military  authorities  to  pass  through 
our  lines,  which,  from  their  standpoint,  they  need  not  have 
hesitated  to  grant,  would  have  left  the  Ambassador  of  his 
Majesty  tlie  King  in  London  a  free  hand  to  deal  without 
prejudice  with  the  question  whether,  according  to  international 
law,  your  I-",\ccllency's  declarations  could  be  accepted  as  the 
declarations  of  France.  Your  Mxccllency  has  rendered  the 
adoption  of  such  a  course  impossible  by  officially  communi- 
cating to  mc  the  object  of  your  journey,  and  the  official  recjuest 
for  a  passport  for  the  purpose  of  representing  F"rance  at  the 
Conference.  The  above-mentioned  political  considerations,  in 
sup])ort  of  which  I  must  adduce  the  declaration  which  your 
Excellency  has  published,  forbid  me  to  accede  to  your  request 
for  such  a  document. 

"In  addressing  this  communication  to  you,  I  must  leave  it  to 
yourself  and  your  Government  to  consider  whether  it  is  possible 
to  fmd  another  way  in  which  the  scruples  above  mentioned  may 
be  overcome,  and  all  prejudice  arising  from  your  ])resence  in 
London  mav  be  avoided. 


1S71J  A    SIIARl'    RKTROOF  357 

"  But  even  if  some  such  way  should  be  discovered,  I  take 
the  liberty  to  cjuestion  whether  it  is  advisable  for  your  ICxcel- 
lency  at  the  present  nioirient  to  leave  Paris  and  your  post  as  a 
member  of  the  (jovcrnment  there,  in  order  to  take  part  in  a 
Conference  on  the  question  of  the  Black  Sea,  at  a  time  when 
interests  of  much  i^reater  importance  to  France  and  Germany 
than  Article  XI.  of  the  Treaty  of  1856  are  at  stake  in  Paris. 
Your  P^xcellency  would  also  leave  behind  you  in  Paris  the 
argents  of  neutral  States  and  the  members  of  their  staffs  who 
have  remained  there,  or  rather  been  kept  there,  notwithstand- 
ing^ the  fact  that  they  have  long  since  obtained  permission  to 
pass  through  the  German  lines,  and  are  therefore  the  more  spe- 
cially committed  to  the  protection  and  care  of  your  Excellency 
as  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  dc  facto  Govern- 
ment. 

I  can  hardly  believe  that  in  a  critical  situation,  to  the  crea- 
tion of  ivJiicli  yon  have  so  largely  contributed,  your  Excellency 
will  deprive  yourself  of  the  possibility  of  cooperating  towards 
that  solution,  for  which  you  are  equally  responsible." 

I  now  let  the  diary  resume  its  narrative. 

Tuesday,  January  I'jth.  —  We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  the 
Saxon  Count  Nostiz-Wallwitz,  who,  it  is  understood,  is  to  take 
up  an  administrative  appointment  here,  and  a  Herr  Winter,  or 
von  Winter,  who  is  to  be  Prefect  at  Chartres.  On  some  one 
referring  to  the  future  military  operations,  the  Chief  observed : 
"  I  think  that  when,  with  God's  help,  we  have  taken  Paris,  we 
shall  not  occupy  it  with  our  troops.  That  work  may  be  left  to 
the  National  Guard  in  the  city.  Also  a  French  commandant. 
We  shall  occupy  merely  the  forts  and  walls.  Everybody  will 
be  permitted  to  enter,  but  nobody  to  leave.  It  will,  therefore, 
be  a  great  prison  until  they  consent  to  make  peace." 

The  Minister  then  spoke  to  Nostiz  about  the  French  Con- 
seils  Gcneraux,  and  said  we  should  try  to  come  to  an  under- 
standing with  them.  They  would  form  a  good  field  here  for 
further  political  operations.  "  So  far  as  the  military  side  of 
the  affair  is  concerned,"  he  continued,  "  I  am  in  favour  of 
greater  concentration.  We  should  not  go  beyond  a  certain  line, 
but  deal  with  that  portion   thoroughly,  making  the  administra- 


358  THE  LANGUAGE  OF  DIPLOMACY  [Jan.  iS 

tion  effectual,  and  in  particular  collect  the  taxes.  The  military 
authorities  are  always  for  advancing.  They  have  a  centrifugal 
plan  of  operations  and  I  a  centripetal.  It  is  a  question  whether 
we  ought  to  hold  Orleans,  and  even  whether  it  would  not  be 
better  to  retire  also  from  Rouen  and  Amiens.  In  the  south- 
east —  I  do  not  know  —  they  want  to  go  as  far  as  Dijon.  And 
if  we  cannot  supply  garrisons  for  every  place  within  our  sphere 
of  occupation,  we  should  from  time  to  time  send  a  flying  col- 
umn wherever  they  show  themselves  recalcitrant,  and  shoot, 
hang,  and  burn.  When  that  has  been  done  a  couple  of  times 
they  will  learn  sense."  Winter  was  of  opinion  that  the  mere 
appearance  of  a  detachment  of  troops  entrusted  with  the  task 
of  restoring  order  would  be  sufficient  in  such  districts.  The 
Chief :  "  I  am  not  so  sure.  A  little  hanging  would  certainly 
have  a  better  effect,  and  a  few  shells  thrown  in  and  a  couple 
of  houses  burned  down.  That  reminds  me  of  the  Bavarian  who 
said  to  a  Prussian  officer  of  artillery  :  '  What  do  you  think, 
comrade,  shall  we  set  that  little  village  on  fire,  or  only 
knock  it  about  a  little .'' '  but  they  decided  after  all  to  set  it  on 
fire." 

I  do  not  now  remember  how  it  was  that  the  Chief  came  to 
speak  again  of  his  letter  he  wrote  yesterday  to  Favre.  "  I  have 
given  him  clearly  to  understand  that  it  would  not  do,  and  that 
I  could  not  believe  that  he  who  had  taken  part  in  the  affair  of 
the  4th  of  September  would  fail  to  await  the  issue.  I  wrote 
the  letter  in  French,  first  because  I  do  not  regard  the  corre- 
spondence as  official  but  rather  as  private,  and  then  in  order 
that  every  .one  may  be  able  to  read  it  in  the  French  lines  until 
it  reaches  him."  Nostiz  asked  how  diplomatic  correspondence 
in  general  was  now  conducted.  The  Chief :  "  In  German. 
Formerly  it  was  in  French.  But  I  have  introduced  German 
—  only,  however,  with  Cabinets  whose  language  is  understood 
in  our  own  Foreign  Office.  England,  Italy,  and  also  Spain  — 
even  Spanish  can  be  read  in  case  of  need.  Not  with  Russia, 
as  I  am  the  only  one  in  the  Foreign  Office  who  understands 
Russian.  Also  not  with  Holland,  Denmark,  and  Sweden  — - 
people  do  not  learn  those  languages  as  a  rule.  They  write  in 
French  and  we  reply  in  the  same  language."  "At  Ferrieres 
I  spoke  to  Thiers  "  (he  meant  Favre)  "'in  French.  Hut  I  told 
him    that  was  only  because    I    was  not   treating  with   him  offi- 


iSyiJ  PROCLAMATION'   OF   TIIK    EMI'IRK  359 

cially.  He  lauf^hcd,  \vhcrcuiK)n  I  said  to  him  :  '  You  will  sec 
that  we  shall  talk  plain  German  to  you  in  the  negotiations  for 
peace.'  " 

At  tea  we  hear  from  Holstein  that  the  bombardment  on 
the  south  side  has  been  stopped,  Blumenthal,  who  was  always 
against  it,  having  got  his  way.  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  the 
Crown  Prince  of  Saxony  will  proceed  vigorously  with  the  bom- 
bardment on  the  north  side.  One  would  like  to  tell  this  to  our 
own  Crown  Prince,  and  to  ask  him  what  would  be  said  when 
it  was  known  that  the  Saxons  had  forced  Paris  to  capitulate. 
"Unless  you  are  quite  certain  of  that,"  said  Wagener,  "and 
have  it  on  absolutely  trustworthy  authority,  do  not  let  the  Chief 
hear  of  it.  I  should  not  like  to  guarantee  that  in  that  case  he 
would  not  be  off  to-morrow.  He  is  a  volcano  whose  action  is 
incalculable,  and  he  does  not  stand  jokes  in  such  matters." 
Holstein,  however,  appears  to  have  been  misinformed.  At 
least  Count  Dc3nhoff,  who  came  in  afterwards,  declared  that 
our  siege  guns  in  the  south  were  also  at  work,  but  that  owing 
to  the  south-west  wind  we  did  not  hear  the  firing,  and,  more- 
over, it  was  not  so  heavy  as  during  the  preceding  days.  Fire 
would  probably  be  opened  to-morrow  from  St.  Denis  upon  the 
city,  a  pleasant  surprise  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern 
quarters. 

Wed)icsday,  January  iSth.  —  In  the  morning  read  despatches 
and  newspapers.  Wollmann  tells  me  that  an  order  has  been 
issued  jiromoting  our  Chief  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Gcneral. 
When  Wollmann  took  the  order  up  to  him  and  congratulated 
him,  the  Chancellor  threw  it  angrily  on  the  bed  and  said : 
"  What  is  the  good  of  that  to  me } "  ("  JVat  ik  niich  davor 
koofe?  "  —  Low  German  dialect.)  Doubtless  imagination,  but  it 
appears  to  be  correct  that  the  Minister  is  to-day  in  very  bad 
humour  and  exceptionally  irritable. 

The  festival  of  the  Orders  and  the  Proclamation  of  the 
German  Empire  and  Emperor  took  place  in  the  great  hall  of 
the  Palace  between  12  and  1.30  p.m.  It  was  held  wath  much 
military  pomp  and  ceremony,  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  very 
magnificent  and  imposing  spectacle.  In  the  meantime  I  took 
a  long  walk  with  Wollmann. 

The  Chief  did  not  dine  with  us,  as  he  was  bidden  to  the 
Emperor's  table.     On  his  return  I  was  called  to  him  twice  to 


360  FOREIGN   DIPLOMATS   IN   PARIS  [Jan.  19 

receive  instructions.     His  voice  was  an  unusually  weak  voice, 
and  he  looked  very  tired  and  worn  out. 

The  Chief  has  received  a  communication  from  a  number  of 
diplomats  who  have  remained  behind  in  Paris.  Kern,  the  Swiss 
Minister,  who  is  their  spokesman,  requests  the  Chancellor  to 
use  his  influence  in  order  to  obtain  permission  for  the  persons 
committed  to  their  protection  to  leave  the  city.  At  the  same 
time  our  right  to  bombard  Paris  is  questioned,  and  it  is  insinu- 
ated that  we  intentionally  fire  at  buildings  that  ought  to  be 
respected.  The  reply  is  to  point  out  that  we  have  already  re- 
peatedly, through  their  diplomatic  representatives,  called  the 
attention  of  the  citizens  of  neutral  states  living  in  Paris  to  the 
consequences  of  the  city's  prolonged  resistance.  This  was 
done  as  early  as  the  end  of  September,  and  again  several  times 
in  October.  Furthermore,  we  have  for  months  past  allowed 
every  citizen  of  a  neutral  state,  who  was  able  to  give  evidence 
of  his  nationality,  to  pass  through  our  lines  without  any  diffi- 
culty. At  the  present  time,  for  military  reasons,  we  can  only 
extend  that  permission  to  members  of  the  Corps  Diplomatique. 
It  is  not  our  fault  if  subjects  of  neutral  states  have  not  hitherto 
availed  themselves  of  the  permission  to  seek  a  place  of  safety 
for  their  persons  and  their  property.  Either  they  have  not 
wished  to  leave,  or  they  have  not  been  allowed  to  do  so  by 
those  who  at  present  hold  power  in  Paris.  We  are  fully  justi- 
fied by  international  law  in  bombarding  Paris,  as  it  is  a  fortress, 
the  principal  fortress  of  PVance  —  an  entrenched  camp  which 
serves  the  enemy  as  a  base  of  offensive  and  defensive  action 
against  our  armies.  Our  generals  cannot,  therefore,  be  expected 
to  refrain  from  attacking  it,  or  to  handle  it  with  velvet  gloves. 
Furthermore,  the  object  of  the  bombardment  is  not  to  destroy 
the  city,  but  to  capture  the  fortress.  If  our  fire  renders  resi- 
dence in  l^aris  uncf)mfortable  and  dangerous,  those  who  recog- 
nise that  fact  ought  not  to  have  gone  to  live  in  a  fortified  town, 
or  should  not  have  remained  there.  They  may,  therefore,  ad- 
dress their  complaints  not  to  us,  but  to  those  who  transformed 
Paris  into  a  fortress,  and  who  now  use  its  fortifications  as  an 
instrument  of  war  against  us.  I-^inally,  our  artillery  does  not 
intentionally  fire  at  private  houses  and  benevolent  institutions, 
such  as  hospitals,  &c.  That  should  be  understood  as  a  matter 
of  course  from  the  care  with  which  we  have  observed  the  pro- 


iS7i)  "KVIL-MIXDF.D    SHKLLS!"  361 

visions  of  the  Geneva  Convention.  Such  accidents  as  do  occur 
are  due  to  the  threat  distance  at  which  we  are  firing.  It  cannot, 
however,  ])e  tolerated  that  Paris,  which  has  been  and  still  is  the 
chief  centre  of  military  resistance,  should  bring  forward  these 
cases  as  an  argument  for  forbidding  the  vigorous  bombardment 
which  is  intended  to  render  the  city  untenable.  Wrote  articles 
to  the  above  effect. 

Thursday,  January  19/"//.  —  Dull  weather.  The  post  has 
not  been  delivered,  and  it  is  ascertained  on  inquiry  that  the 
railway  line  has  been  destroyed  at  a  place  called  Vitry  la  Ville, 
near  ChTdons.  From  10  a.m.  we  hear  a  rather  vigorous  can- 
nonade, in  which  field  guns  ultimately  join.  I  write  two 
articles  on  the  sentimental  report  of  the  Journal  dcs  Dcbats, 
according  to  which  our  shells  strike  only  ambulances,  mothers 
with  their  daughters,  and  babies  in  swaddling  clothes.  What 
evil-minded  shells ! 

Keudell  tells  us  at  lunch  that  to-day's  cannonade  was 
directed  against  a  great  sortie  with  twenty-four  battalions  and 
numerous  guns  in  the  direction  of  I.a  Celle  and  Saint  Cloud. 
In  my  room  after  lunch  Wollmann  treats  me  to  a  number  of 
anecdotes  of  doubtful  authenticity.  According  to  him  the 
Chief  yesterday  remarked  to  the  King,  when  his  Majesty 
changed  the  Minister's  title  to  that  of  Chancellor  of  the 
Empire,  that  this  new  title  brought  him  into  bad  company. 
To  which  the  King  replied  that  the  bad  company  would  be 
transformed  into  good  company  on  his  joining  it.  (From  whom 
can  Wollmann  have  heard  that  "i)  My  gossip  also  informs  me 
that  the  King  made  a  slip  of  the  tongue  yesterday  at  the 
palace,  when  in  announcing  his  assumption  of  the  title  of 
Emperor  he  added  the  words  "  by  the  Grace  of  God."  This 
requires  to  be  confirmed  by  some  more  trustworthy  authority. 
Another  story  of  Wollmann's  seems  more  probable,  namely, 
that  the  Minister  sends  in  a  written  request  to  the  King,  almost 
every  day,  to  be  sup])lied  with  the  reports  of  the  General  Staff 
respecting  the  English  coal  ships  sunk  by  our  people  near 
Rouen.  He  used  in  the  snme  way  to  telegraph  day  after  day  to 
Eulenburg,  who  has  always  been  very  dilatory  :  "  What  about  Vil- 
licrs  .?  "  And  before  that  in  Berlin  he  had  a  request  addressed  to 
Eulenburg  at  least  once  every  week  :  Would  he  kindly  have  the 
draft  of  the  district  regulations  sent  forward  as  early  as  possible  ? 


362  "THEY   MUST   LEARN    WHAT   WAR    MEANS"  [Jan.  20 

Towards  2  o'clock,  when  the  rattle  of  the  mitrailleuse  could 
be  clearly  distinguished,  and  the  French  artillery  was  at  the 
outside  only  half  a  German  mile  in  a  straight  line  from  Ver- 
sailles, the  Chief  rode  out  to  the  aqueduct  at  Marly,  whither  the 
King  and  the  Crown  Prince  were  understood  to  have  gone. 

The  affair  must  have  caused  some  anxiety  at  Versailles  in 
the  meantime,  as  we  see  that  the  Bavarian  troops  have  been 
called  out.  They  are  posted  in  large  masses  in  the  Place 
d'Armes  and  the  Avenue  de  Paris.  The  French  are  camped, 
sixty  thousand  strong  it  is  said,  beneath  Mont  Valerien  and  in 
the  fields  to  the  east  of  it.  They  arc  understood  to  have  capt- 
ured the  Montretout  redoubt,  and  the  village  of  Garches  to  the 
west  of  Saint  Cloud,  which  is  not  much  more  than  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  from  here,  is  also  in  their  hands.  They  may,  it  is 
feared,  advance  further  to-morrow  and  oblige  us  to  withdraw 
from  Versailles,  but  this  seems  to  be  at  least  an  exaggeration. 
At  dinner  there  is  scarcely  any  talk  of  immediate  danger. 
Geheimrath  von  Loper,  who  is  understood  to  be  Under  Secre- 
tary in  the  Ministry  of  the  Royal  Household,  dines  with  us. 
We  hear  that  there  is  no  longer  any  danger  for  our  communica- 
tions in  the  south-east,  as  Bourbaki,  after  pressing  Wcrdcr  very 
hard  for  three  days  without,  however,  being  able  to  defeat  him, 
has  given  up  the  attempt  to  relieve  Belfort  and  is  now  in  full 
retreat,  probably  owing  to  the  approach  of  Manteuffel.  The 
Chief  then  refers  to  a  report  that  the  taxes  cannot  be  collected 
in  various  districts  of  the  occupied  territory.  He  says  it  is  (liiTi- 
cult,  indeed  impossible,  to  garrison  every  place  where  the  popu- 
lation must  be  made  to  pay  the  taxes.  "Nor,"  he  adds,  "is  it 
necessary  to  do  so.  Flying  columns  of  infantry  accompanied 
by  a  couple  of  guns  are  all  that  is  needed.  Without  even  enter- 
ing into  the  places,  the  people  should  be  simply  told,  'If  you 
do  not  produce  the  taxes  in  arrear  within  two  hours,  we  shall 
pitch  some  shells  in  amongst  you.'  If  they  see  that  wc  are  in 
earnest,  they  will  pay.  If  not,  the  place  should  be  bomljarded, 
and  that  would  help  in  other  cases.  They  must  learn  what  war 
means." 

The  conversation  afterwards  turned  on  the  grants  that  were 
to  be  expected  after  the  conclusion  of  peace,  and  alluding  to 
those  made  in  1866,  the  Chief  said,  inter  alia:  "They  should 
not  be  grants  of  money.      I   at  least  was  reluctant  for  a  long 


iSyiJ  BUCIIER   AND   TIIK   SrAXISII   (^UKSTIOX  363 

time  to  accept  one,  but  at  length  I  yielded  to  the  temptation. 
Besides,  it  was  worse  still  in  my  case,  as  I  received  it  not  from 
the  King  but  from  the  Diet.  I  did  not  want  to  take  any  money 
from  people  with  whom  I  had  fought  so  bitterly  for  years. 

"  Moreover,  the  King  was  to  some  extent  in  my  debt,  as  I 
had  sent  him  forty  pounds  of  fine  fresh  caviare  —  a  present  for 
which  he  made  me  no  return.  It  is  true  that  perhaps  he  never 
received  it.  Probably  that  fat  rascal  Borck  intercepted  it." 
"  These  rewards  ought  to  have  taken  the  form  of  grants  of 
land,  as  in  18 15;  and  there  was  a  good  opportunity  of  doing 
so,  particularly  in  the  corner  of  Bavaria  which  we  acquired, 
and  which  consisted  almost  entirely  of  State  property." 

While  we  were  alone  at  tea,  Bucher  told  me  that  "  before  the 
war  he  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  Spanish  affair."  (This 
was  not  exactly  news  to  me,  as  I  remembered  that  long  before 
that  he  suddenly  ordered  the  Iniparcial,  and  commissioned 
various  articles  directed  against  Montpensier.)  He  had  nego- 
tiated in  the  matter  with  the  Hohenzollerns,  father  and  son,  and 
had  also  spoken  to  the  King  on  the  affair  in  an  audience  of 
one  hour's  duration  which  he  had  had  with  him  at  Ems. 

Friday,  January  20t/i.  —  I  am  called  to  the  Chief  at  1 2 
o'clock.  He  wishes  to  have  his  reply  to  Kern's  communication, 
and  the  letter  in  which  he  declined  to  supply  Favre  with  a  pass- 
port, published  in  the  Moniteur. 

Bohlen  again  came  to  dinner,  at  which  we  were  also  joined 
by  Lauer  and  von  Knobelsdorff.  The  Chief  was  very  cheerful 
and  talkative.  He  related,  amongst  other  things,  that  while  he 
was  at  Frankfort  he  frequently  received  and  accepted  invita- 
tions from  the  Grand  Ducal  Court  at  Darmstadt.  They  had 
excellent  shooting  there.  "But,"  he  added,  "I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  Grand  Duchess  Mathilde  did  not  like  me.  She 
said  to  some  one  at  that  time:  'He  always  stands  there  and 
looks  as  important  as  if  he  were  the  Grand  Duke  himself.'  " 

While  we  were  smoking  our  cigars,  the  Crown  Prince's  aide- 
de-camp  suddenly  appeared,  and  reported  that  Count (I 

could  not  catch  the  name)  had  come,  ostensibly  on  behalf  of, 
and  under  instructions  from,  Trochu,  to  ask  for  a  two  days' 
armistice  in  order  to  remove  the  wounded  and  bury  those  who 
fell  in  yesterday's  engagement.  The  Chief  replied  that  the 
request   should  be  refused.     A  few   hours  would  be   sufficient 


364  'i'lIK    r.AVARIAN   TREA'IY    CARRIED  [Jan.  21 

for  the  removal  of  the  wounded  and  the  burial  of  the  dead; 
and,  besides,  the  latter  were  just  as  well  off  lying  on  the  ground 
as  they  would  be  under  it.  The  Major  returned  shortly  after- 
wards and  announced  that  the  King  would  come  here;  and, 
hardly  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  his  Majesty  arrived  with 
the  Crown  Prince.  They  went  with  the  Chancellor  into  the 
drawing-room,  where  a  negative  answer  was  prepared  for  Tro- 
chu's  messenger. 

About  9  P.M.  Bucher  sent  me  up  a  couple  of  lines  in  pencil 
to  the  effect  that  the  letter  to  Kern  should  be  published  in 
the  Monitcnr  to-morrow,  but  that  the  communication  to  Favre 
should  be  held  over  for  the  present. 

Saturday,  January  2\st. — At  9. 30  A.M.  the  Moniteur  is 
delivered,  and  contains  the  Chief's  letter  to  Favre.  Very  dis- 
agreeable; but  I  suppose  my  letter  to  Bamberg  only  arrived 
after  the  paper  was  printed.  At  10  o'clock  I  am  called  to  the 
Minister,  who  says  nothing  about  this  mishap,  although  he  has 
the  newspaper  before  him.  He  is  still  in  bed,  and  wishes  the 
protest  of  the  Comte  dc  Chambord  against  the  bombardment 
cut  out  for  the  King.  I  then  write  an  article  for  the  KolniscJic 
Zcitujis^,  and  a  paragraph  for  the  local  journal. 

Voigts-Rhctz,  Prince  Putbus,  and  the  l-?avarian  Count  Berg- 
hem  were  the  Chancellor's  guests  at  dinner.  The  Bavarian 
brought  the  pleasant  news  that  the  Versailles  treaties  were 
carried  in  the  second  chamber  at  Munich  by  two  votes  over 
the  necessary  two-thirds  majority.  The  German  lunpire  was, 
therefore,  complete  in  every  resjiect.  Thereu]:)on  the  Chief 
invited  the  comjmny  to  drink  the  health  of  the  King  of  Bavaria, 
"  who,  after  all,  has  really  helped  us  through  to  a  successful 
conclusion."  "  I  always  thought  that  it  would  be  carried,"  he 
added,  "if  only  by  one  vote  —  but  I  had  not  hoped  for  two. 
The  last  good  news  from  the  seat  of  war  will  doubtless  have 
contributed  to  the  result." 

It  was  then  mentioned  that  in  the  engagement  the  day 
before  yesterday  the  I'^rench  brought  a  much  larger  force 
against  us  than  was  thought  at  first,  probably  over  80,000 
men.  The  Montretout  redoubt  was  actually  in  their  hands 
for  some  hours,  and  also  a  portion  of  Garches  and  Saint  Cloud. 
The  I'Vench  had  lost  enormously  in  storming  the  j)osition  —  it 
was  said    1,200  dead  and   .|,nfvi  wounded.      The  Chancellor  ob- 


1S71J  A    SllAKl'    KKrAKlKE  365 

served:  "The  cai)ituhition  must  follow  soon.  I  iniaf^inc  it  may 
be  even  next  week.  After  the  capitulation  we  shall  suj)i)ly 
them  with  j^'ovisions  as  a  matter  of  course.  But  before  they 
deliver  up  700,000  rifles  and  4,000  guns  they  shall  not  get  a 
single  mouthful  of  bread  —  and  then  no  one  shall  be  allowed  to 
leave.  We  shall  occupy  the  forts  and  the  walls  and  keep  them 
on  short  commons  until  they  accommodate  themselves  to  a 
peace  satisfactory  to  us.  After  all  there  arc  still  many  per- 
sons of  intelligence  and  consideration  in  Paris  with  whom  it 
nuist  be  jiossible  to  come  to  some  arrangement." 

Then  followed  a  learned  discussion  on  the  difference  be- 
tween the  titles  "German  Emperor"  and  "Emperor  of  Ger- 
many"; and  that  of  "  lunperor  of  the  Germans"  was  also 
mooted.  After  this  had  gone  on  for  a  while  the  Chief,  who 
had  taken  no  part  in  it,  asked  :  "  Does  any  one  know  the  Latin 
word  for  sausage  (Wurscht).'' "  Abcken  answered  "  Farcimen- 
tum,"  and  I  said  "  Farcimen."  The  Chief,  smiling :  "  Farci- 
mentum  or  farcimen,  it  is  all  the  same  to  me.  Ncscio  quid  niiJii 
magis  farcinictitum  rssct."  {" Es  ist  viir  Wurst''  is  student's 
slang,  and  means,  "  It  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  indifference  to 
me.") 

Sunday,  Janua}-y  22nd.  —  In  the  forenoon  I  wrote  two  para- 
graphs for  the  German  newspapers,  and  one  for  the  Moniteur,  in 
connection  with  which  I  was  twice  called  to  see  the  Chief. 

Von  Konncritz,  a  Saxon,  General  von  Stosch,  and  Loper 
joined  us  at  dinner.  There  was  nothing  worth  noting  in  the 
conversation  except  that  the  Minister  again  insisted  that  it 
would  be  only  fair  to  invest  the  wounded  with  the  Iron  Cross. 
"The  Coburger,"  he  went  on,  "said  to  me  the  other  day,  'It 
would  really  be  a  satisfaction  if  the  soldiers  also  got  the  Cross 
now.'  I  replied,  '  Yes,  but  it  is  less  satisfactory  that  we  two 
should  have  received  it.'  " 

]\Ionday,  January  2yd.  —  I  telegraph  that  the  bombardment 
on  the  north  side  has  made  good  progress,  that  the  fort  at  Saint 
Denis  has  been  silenced,  and  that  an  outbreak  of  fire  has  been 
observed  in  Saint  Denis  itself  as  well  as  in  Paris.  All  our  bat- 
teries are  firing  vigorously,  although  one  cannot  hear  them.  So 
w^e  are  told  by  Lieutenant  von  Uslar,  of  the  Hussars,  who 
brings  a  letter  to  the  Chief  from  Favre.     What  can  he  want.'' 

Shortly  after  7  v.^i.  Favre  arrived,  and  the  Chancellor  had 


366  FAVRE  ARRIVES  [Jan.  24 

an  interview  with  liim,  which  lasted  about  two  and  a  half  hours. 
In  the  meantime  Hatzfeld  and  Bismarck-Bohlen  conversed  down- 
stairs in  the  drawing-room  with  the  gentleman  who  accompanied 
Favre,  and  who  is  understood  to  be  his  son-in-law,  del  Rio.  He 
is  a  portrait  painter  by  profession,  but  came  with  his  father-in- 
law  in  the  capacity  of  secretary.  Both  were  treated  to  a  hastily 
improvised  meal,  consisting  of  cutlets,  scrambled  eggs,  ham, 
&c.,  which  will  doubtless  have  been  welcome  to  these  poor  mar- 
tyrs to  their  own  obstinacy.  Shortly  after  10  o'clock  they  drove 
off,  accompanied  by  Hatzfeld,  to  the  lodgings  assigned  to  them 
in  a  house  on  the  Boulevard  du  Roi,  where  Stieber  and  the  mili- 
tary police  also  happen  to  have  their  quarters.  Hatzfeld  accom- 
panied the  gentlemen  there.     Favre  looked  very  depressed. 

The  Chief  drove  off  to  see  the  King  at  10.30  p.m.,  returning 
in  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  He  looks  exceedingly 
pleased  as  he  enters  the  room  where  we  are  sitting  at  tea.  He 
first  asks  me  to  pour  him  out  a  cup  of  tea,  and  he  eats  a  few 
mouthfuls  of  bread  with  it.  After  a  while  he  says  to  his  cousin, 
"  Do  you  know  this  ?  "  and  then  whistled  a  short  tune,  the  signal 
of  the  hunter  that  he  has  brought  down  the  deer.  Bohlen  re- 
plies, "Yes,  in  at  the  death."  The  Chief:  "No,  this  way,"  and 
he  whistled  again.  "  A  Jiallali,''  he  adds.  "  I  think  the  thing 
is  finished."  Bohlen  remarked  that  Favre  looked  "awfully 
shabby."  The  Chief  said :  "  I  find  he  has  grown  much  greyer 
than  when  I  saw  him  at  Ferrieres  —  also  stouter,  probably  on 
horseflesh.  Otherwise  he  looks  like  one  who  has  been  through 
a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  excitement  lately,  and  to  whom 
everything  is  now  indifferent.  Moreover,  he  was  very  frank, 
and  confessed  that  things  are  not  going  on  well  in  Paris.  I  also 
ascertained  from  him  that  Trochu  has  been  superseded.  Vinoy 
is  now  in  command  of  the  city."  Bohlen  then  related  that  Mar- 
tinez del  Rio  was  exceedingly  reserved.  They,  for  their  part, 
had  not  tried  to  pump  him  ;  but  they  once  inquired  how  things 
were  going  on  at  the  Villa  Rothschild  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne, 
where  Thiers  said  the  General  Staff  of  the  Paris  army  was 
quartered.  Del  Rio  answered  curtly  that  he  did  not  know.  For 
the  rest,  they  had  talked  solely  about  high-class  restaurants  in 
Paris,  which,  they  acknowledged,  was  an  unmannerly  thing  to 
do.  Hatzfeld  on  his  return,  after  conducting  the  two  I'arisians 
to  their  lodgings,  rcjK)rtcd  that  I'^avrc  was  glad  to   ha\-<-   arrived 


iSjiJ  DU'LOMAIIC   TWADDLE  367 

after  dark,  and  that  he  does  not  wish  to  go  out  in  the  daytime 
in  order  not  to  create  a  sensation,  and  to  avoid  being  pestered 
by  the  Versailles  {)eo[)le. 

Tuesday,  January  2\tJi.  —  The  Chief  gets  up  before  9  o'clock 
and  works  with  Abeken.  Shortly  before  10  he  drives  off  to 
see  the  King,  or,  let  us  now  say,  the  Emperor.  It  is  nearly  i 
o'clock  when  he  returns.  We  are  still  at  lunch,  and  he  sits 
down  and  takes  some  roast  ham  and  a  glass  of  Tivoli  beer. 
After  a  while  he  heaves  a  sigh  and  says:  "  Until  now  I  always 
thought  that  Parliamentary  negotiations  were  the  slowest  of  all, 
but  I  no  longer  think  so.  There  was  at  least  one  way  of  escape 
there  —  to  move  'that  the  question  should  be  now  put.'  But 
here  everybody  says  whatever  occurs  to  him,  and  when  one  im- 
agines the  matter  is  finally  settled,  somebody  brings  forward  an 
argument  that  has  already  been  disposed  of,  and  so  the  whole 
thing  has  to  be  gone  over  again,  which  is  quite  hopeless.  That 
is  stewing  thought  to  rags  —  mere  flatulence  which  people  ought 
really  to  be  able  to  restrain.  Well,  it's  all  the  same  to  me !  I 
even  prefer  that  nothing  should  have  been  yet  decided  or  shall 
be  decided  till  to-morrow.  It  is  merely  the  waste  of  time  in 
having  to  listen  to  them,  but  of  course  such  people  do  not  think 
of  that."  The  Chief  then  said  that  he  expected  Favre  to  call 
upon  him  again,  and  that  he  had  advised  him  to  leave  at  3 
o'clock  (Favre  wishes  to  return  to  Paris)  "  on  account  of  the 
soldiers  who  would  challenge  him  after  dark,  and  to  whom  he 
could  not  reply." 

Favre  arrived  at  1.30  p.m.  and  spent  nearly  two  hours  in 
negotiation  with  the  Chancellor.  He  afterwards  drove  off 
towards  Paris,  being  accompanied  by  Bismarck-Bohlen  as  far 
as  the  bridge  at  Sevres. 

These  negotiations  were  not  mentioned  at  dinner.  It  would 
appear,  however,  to  be  a  matter  of  course  that  the  preliminaries 
of  the  capitulation  were  discussed.  The  Chief  spoke  at  first  of 
Bernstorff,  and  said :  "  Anyhow,  that  is  a  thing  I  have  never 
yet  been  able  to  manage  —  to  fill  page  after  page  of  foolscap 
with  the  most  insignificant  twaddle.  A  pile  so  high  has  come 
in  again  to-day"  —  he  pointed  with  his  hand  —  "and  then  the 
back  references:  'As  I  had  the  honour  to  report  in  my  de- 
s])atch  oi:  Januai'v  3rd,  1863,  No.  So-and-so;  as  I  announced 
most  obcdientlv  iii  my  telegram  No.  1666.'      I  send  them  to  the 


368  BISMARCK'S   HUMOURS  [Jan.  24 

King,  and  he  wants  to  know  what  Bernstorff  means,  and  always 
writes  in  pencil  on  the  margin,  '  Don't  understand  this.  This 
is  awful ! '  "  Somebody  observed  that  it  was  only  Goltz  who 
wrote  as  much  as  Bernstorff.  "Yes,"  said  the  Chief,  "and  in 
addition  he  often  sent  me  private  letters  that  filled  six  to  eight 
closely  written  sheets.  He  must  have  had  a  terrible  amount  of 
spare  time.  Fortunately  I  fell  out  with  him,  and  then  that 
blessing  ceased."  One  of  the  company  wondered  what  Goltz 
would  say  if  he  now  heard  that  the  Emperor  was  a  prisoner, 
and  the  P^mpress  in  London,  while  Paris  was  being  besieged 
and  bombarded  by  us.  "  Well,"  replied  the  Chief,  "he  was  not 
so  desperately  attached  to  the  Emperor  —  but  the  Empress  in 
London !  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  his  devotion  to  her,  he 
would  not  have  given  himself  away  as  Werther  did." 

The  death  of  a  Belgian  Princess  having  been  mentioned, 
Abeken,  as  in  duty  bound,  expressed  his  grief  at  the  event. 
The  Chief  said  :  "  How  can  that  affect  you  so  much .''  To  my 
knowledge,  there  is  no  Belgian  here  at  table,  nor  even  a  cousin." 

The  Minister  then  related  that  Eavre  complained  of  our 
firing  at  the  sick  and  blind  —  that  is  to  say,  the  blind  asylum. 
"  I  said  to  him,  '  I  really  do  not  see  what  you  have  to  complain 
about.  You  yourselves  do  much  worse,  seeing  that  you  shoot 
at  our  sound  and  healthy  men.'  He  will  have  thought.  What 
a  barbarian !  "  Hohenlohe's  name  was  then  mentioned,  and 
it  was  said  that  much  of  the  success  of  the  bombardment  was 
due  to  him.  The  Chief  :  "  I  shall  propose  for  him  the  title  of 
Poliorketes."  The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  statues  and 
paintings  of  the  Restoration,  and  their  artificiality  and  bad  taste. 
"I  remember,"  said  the  Chief,  "that  Schuckmann,  the  Minister, 
was  painted  by  his  wife,  C7i  coquillc  I  think  it  was  called  at  that 
time,  that  is,  in  a  rose-coloured  shell,  and  wearing  a  kind  of 
antique  costume.  He  was  naked  down  to  the  waist — I  had 
never  seen  him  like  that."  "That  is  one  of  my  earliest  remem- 
brances. They  often  gave  what  used  to  be  called  asscniblecs, 
and  arc  now  known  as  routs  a  ball  without  supper.  My 
])arents  usually  went  thcic."  Thereupon  the  Chief  once  more 
described  his  mother's  costume,  and  then  continued:  "There 
was  afterwards  a  Russian  Minister  in  Berlin,  Ribeaupierre,  who 
alsf)  gave  balls,  wlion-  pt-oplo  danced  till  2  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  there  was  not  bin.;  t(j  eat.      I  know  that,  because  I  and 


uSyiJ  AN    LMlOSrilADLI-;    IKJUSE  369 

a  couple  of  t^ood  friends  were  often  there.  At  length  we  got 
tired  of  it,  and  [ilayed  them  a  trick.  When  it  got  late,  we  pulled 
out  some  bread  and  butter  from  our  pockets,  and  after  we  had 
finished,  we  pitched  the  paj^er  on  the  drawing-room  floor. 
Refreshments  were  provided  next  time,  but  we  were  not  in- 
vited any  more." 

VUL.  1.  —  2B 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

DURING    THE     NEGOTIATION'S     RESPECTING     THE    CAPITULATION    OF 

PARIS 

Wednesday,  January  25///.  —  Count  Lehndorff  dined  with 
us,  and  talked  about  hunting  and  hunting  dinners,  inchiding  a 
great  banquet  given  by  some  Baron  which  consisted  of  no  less 
than  twenty-four  courses.  His  brother  was  present  and  fell 
asleep  propped  on  his  elbows,  while  a  neighbour  of  his  sank 
into  slumber  on  the  shoulder  of  a  governess  who  was  sitting 
next  him.  The  dinner  lasted  over  five  hours  and  the  people 
were  most  horribly  bored,  as  often  happens  in  the  country.  The 
Chief  remarked  :  "  I  always  know  how  to  get  over  that  diffi- 
culty. One  must  put  down  a  good  bit  of  liquor  right  at  the 
beginning,  and  under  its  influence  one's  neighbours  to  the  left 
and  right  grow  ever  so  much  cleverer  and  pleasanter." 

The  Minister  then  sj)oke  about  his  first  journey  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. He  drove  in  a  carriage,  as  at  first  there  was  no  snow. 
It  fell  very  heavily  later  on,  however,  and  progress  was  terribly 
slow.  It  took  him  five  full  days  and  si.x  nights  to  reach  the 
first  railway  station,  and  he  spent  the  whole  time  cramped  up 
in  a  narrow  carriage  without  sleep  and  with  the  thermometer  at 
fifteen  degrees  Reaumur  below  zero.  In  the  train,  however,  he 
fell  so  fast  asleep  that  on  their  arrival  in  St.  Petersburg,  after  a 
ten  hours'  run,  he  felt  as  if  he  had  been  only  five  minutes  in  the 
railway  carriage. 

"  The  old  times  before  the  railways  were  completed  had  also 
their  good  side,"  continued  the  Minister.  "There  was  not  so 
much  to  do.  The  mail  only  came  in  twice  a  week,  and  then 
one  worked  as  if  fr)r  a  wager.  But  when  the  mail  was  over  we 
got  on  horseback,  and  had  a  good  time  of  it  until  its  next 
arrival."  Somebody  (observed  that  the  increased  work,  both 
al)ro:icl  and  at  the  Foreign  Office,  was  due  more  to  the  telegraph 
than  to  'h>;  railways.     This  led  the  Chief  to  talk  about  dii)lo- 

370 


Jan.  25,  iS7»J  DirLOMAllC   DliSrATCII-WRlTERS  371 

matic  reports  in  general,  many  of  which,  while  written  in  a 
])lea.sant  style,  were  quite  empty.  "  They  are  like  feuilletons, 
written  merely  because  something  has  to  be  written.  That  was 
the  case,  for  instance,  with  the  reports  of  Bamberg,  our  Consul 
in  I'aris.  One  read  them  through  always  thinking :  Now 
something  is  coming.  But  nothing  ever  came.  They  sounded 
very  well  and  one  read  on  and  on.  But  there  was  really  noth- 
ing in  them.  All  barren  and  empty."  Another  instance  was 
then  mentioned,  I^ernhardi,  our  Military  Plenipotentiary  at 
Florence,  of  whom  the  Chief  said :  "  He  passes  for  being  a  good 
writer  on  military  subjects  because  of  his  work  on  Toll.  We 
do  not  know,  however,  how  much  of  that  he  himself  wrote. 
Thereupon  he  was  given  the  rank  of  major,  although  it  is  not 
certain  that  he  ever  was  an  ofificer  at  all,  and  he  was  appointed 
Military  Plenipotentiary  in  Italy.  Great  things  were  expected 
of  him  there,  and  in  the  matter  of  quantity  he  did  a  great  deal 
—  also  in  the  matter  of  style.  He  writes  in  an  agreeable  way, 
as  if  for  a  feuilleton,  but  when  I  have  got  to  the  end  of  his 
closely  written  reports  in  a  small  neat  hand,  for  all  their  length 
I  have  found  nothing  in  them."  .  .  . 

The  Minister  then  returned  to  the  subject  of  tiresome  jour- 
neys and  long  rides.  He  said  :  "  I  remember  after  the  battle  of 
Sadowa  I  was  the  whole  day  in  the  saddle  on  a  big  horse.  At 
first  I  did  not  want  to  ride  him,  as  he  was  too  high  and  it  was 
too  much  trouble  to  mount.  At  last,  however,  I  did  so,  and  I 
was  not  sorry  for  it.  It  was  an  excellent  animal!  But  the 
long  waiting  above  the  valley  had  exhausted  me  and  my  seat 
and  legs  were  very  sore.  The  skin  was  not  broken,  —  that  has 
never  happened  to  me,  —  but  afterwards  when  I  sat  down  on  a 
w'ooden  bench  I  had  a  feeling  as  if  I  were  sitting  on  something 
that  came  between  me  and  the  wood.  It  was  only  a  blister. 
After  Sadowa  we  arrived  late  at  night  in  the  market-place  of 
Horsitz.  There  we  were  told  that  we  were  to  seek  out  our  own 
quarters.  That,  however,  was  much  easier  said  than  done. 
The  houses  were  bolted  and  barred,  and  the  sappers,  who 
might  have  broken  in  the  doors  for  us,  were  not  to  arrive  before 
five  in  the  morning."  "  His  Excellency  knew  how  to  help  him- 
self in  a  similar  case  at  Gravelotte,"  interrupted  Delbriick. 
The  Chief  continued  his  story  :  "  Well,  I  went  to  several  houses 
at  Horsitz,  three  or  four,  and  at  length  I  found  a  door  open. 


3/2  HENRI   IV.'S   BAD    LUCK  [Jan.  25 

After  making  a  few  steps  into  the  dark,  I  fell  into  a  kind  of  pit. 
Luckily  it  was  not  deep,  and  I  was  able  to  satisfy  myself  that  it 
was  filled  with  horse-dung.  I  thought  at  first,  '  How  would  it 
be  to  remain  here,'  —  on  the  dung-heap,  but  I  soon  recognised 
other  smells.  What  curious  things  happen  sometimes  !  If  that 
pit  had  been  twenty  feet  deep,  and  full,  they  would  have  had 
a  long  search  next  morning  for  their  Minister,  and  doubtless 
there  would  be  no  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  to-day. 
I  went  out  again  and  finally  found  a  corner  for  myself  in  an 
arcade  on  the  market-place.  I  laid  a  couple  of  carriage  cush- 
ions on  the  ground  and  made  a  pillow  of  a  third,  and  then 
stretched  myself  out  to  sleep.  Later  on  some  one  waked  me. 
It  was  Perponcher,  who  told  me  that  the  Grand  Duke  of  Meck- 
lenburg had  a  room  for  mc  and  an  unoccupied  bed.  That 
turned  out  to  be  correct,  but  the  bed  was  only  a  child's  cot. 
I  managed  to  fi.x  it,  however,  by  arranging  the  back  of  a  chair 
at  the  end  of  it.  But  in  the  morning  I  could  hardly  stand,  as 
my  knees  had  been  resting  on  the  bare  boards."  "One  can 
sleep  quite  comfortably  if  one  has  only  a  sackful  of  straw,  how- 
ever small.  You  cut  it  open  in  the  middle,  push  the  straw  to 
the  two  ends,  and  let  yourself  into  the  hollow  part.  I  used  to 
do  that  in  Russia  when  out  hunting.  I  ripped  the  bag  open 
with  my  hunting  knife,  crept  into  it  and  slept  like  a  log." 
"  Thai  was  when  the  despatch  from  Napoleon  came,"  observed 
l^ohlju.  The  Chief  replied:  "  Yes,  the  one  at  which  the  King 
was  so  pleased,  because  it  showed  that  he  had  won  a  great 
battle  —his  first  great  battle."  "And  you  were  also  glad," 
said  I^ohlen,  "and  you  swore  an  oath  that  you  would  one  day 
requite  the  Gauls  when  an  opportunity  offered."  .  .  . 

Finally  the  Chief  related:  "  Favre  told  me  the  day  before 
yesterday  that  the  first  shell  that  fell  in  the  Pantheon  cut  off 
the  head  of  the  statue  of  Henri  IV."  "  He  doubtless  thought 
that  was  a  very  jKithetic  piece  of  news,"  suggested  Bohlen. 
"Oh,  no,"  replied  the  Chief,  "I  rather  fancy  that,  as  a  demo- 
crat, he  was  pleased  that  it  should  have  ha]:)])ened  to  a  King." 
Bohlen  :  "That  is  the  second  ])iece  of  bad  luck  that  Henri  has 
had  in  Paris.  l'"irst  a  PVenchman  stabbed  him  there,  and  now 
we  have  beheaded  him." 

The  dinner  lasted  vt-ry  long  this  evening,  from  5.30  till 
after  7.      Favre  was  expected   back   from    Paris  e\'ery  moment. 


1S71]  KAVRK   COXKKRS    Willi    IJISMAKCK  373 

Ho  came  at  Icni^th  at  7.30,  ai^ain  accompanied  by  his  son-in-law 
with  the  Si)anish  name.  It  is  understood  that  neither  hesitated 
this  time,  as  they  did  on  the  former  occasion,  to  take  the  food 
that  was  offered  to  them,  but,  Hke  sensible  people,  did  justice 
to  the  <;"ood  tilings  th;it  were  laid  before  them.  It  is  doubtless 
to  be  inferred  from  this  that  they  have  also  listened  to  reason 
in  the  main  point,  or  will  do  so.  That  will  soon  appear,  as 
Favre  is  ap;ain  conferring  with  the  Chancellor. 

After  dinner  read  drafts.  Instructions  have  been  sent  to 
Rosenberg-Grudcinski  at  Reims  respecting  the  collection  of 
taxes.  The  Municipalities  are  to  be  called  upon  to  pay  five  per 
cent,  extra  for  each  day  of  arrears.  Flying  columns  with 
artillery  are  to  be  sent  to  districts  where  payment  is  obstinately 
refused.  They  are  to  summon  the  inhabitants  to  pay  up  the 
taxes  and  if  this  is  not  done  immediately  to  shell  the  place  and 
set  it  on  fire.  Three  examples  would  render  a  fourth  unneces- 
sary. It  is  not  our  business  to  win  over  the  French  by  con- 
siderate treatment  or  to  take  their  welfare  into  account.  On 
the  contrary,  in  view  of  their  character,  it  is  desirable  to  inspire 
them  with  a  greater  fear  of  us  than  of  their  own  Government, 
which,  of  course,  also  enforces  compulsory  measures  against 
them.  According  to  a  report  by  the  Minister  of  the  Nether- 
lands to  his  Government,  the  Red  Republicans  in  Paris  at- 
tempted a  rising  the  night  before  last,  released  some  of  their 
leaders,  and  then  provoked  a  riot  outside  the  Hotel  de  Ville. 
The  National  Guards  fired  upon  the  Mobiles,  and  there  were 
some  dead  and  wounded,  but  ultimately  order  was  restored. 

About  10  o'clock,  while  Favre  was  still  here,  there  was  heavy 
firing  from  big  guns,  which  continued  for  perhaps  an  hour.  I 
went  to  tea  at  10.30  p.m.,  and  found  Hatzfeld  and  Bismarck- 
Bohlen  in  conversation  with  Del  Rio  in  the  dining-room.  He 
is  a  man  of  medium  height,  dark  beard,  slightly  bald,  and  wears 
a  pince-nez.  Shortly  after  I  came  down,  he  left  for  his  quarters 
at  Stieber's  house,  accompanied  by  Mantey,  and  he  was  followed 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  later  by  Favre.  Del  Rio  spoke  of  Paris  as 
being  the  "  centre  du  monde,"  so  that  the  bombardment  is  a 
kind  of  target  practice  at  the  centre  of  the  world.  He  men- 
tioned that  Favre  has  a  villa  at  Reuil  and  a  large  cellar  in  Paris 
with  all  sorts  of  wine,  and  that  he  himself  has  an  estate  in  Mexico 
of  six  square  German  miles  in  extent.     After  Favre's  departure 


374  P'AVKE   IMPROVES   ON   ACQUAINTANCE  [Jan.  25 

the  Chief  came  out  to  us,  ate  some  cold  partridge,  asked  for 
some  ham,  and  drank  a  bottle  of  beer.  After  a  while  he  sighed, 
and  sitting  up  straight  in  his  chair  he  exclaimed:  "  If  one  could 
only  decide  and  order  these  things  oneself!  But  to  bring  others 
to  do  it!  "  He  paused  for  a  minute  and  then  continued:  "What 
surprises  me  is  that  they  have  not  sent  out  any  general.  And 
it  is  difficult  to  make  Favre  understand  military  matters."  He 
then  mentioned  a  couple  of  French  technical  terms  of  which 
Favre  did  not  know  the  meaning.  "Well,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
he  had  a  proper  meal  to-day,"  said  Bohlen.  The  Chief  replied 
in  the  affirmative,  and  then  Bohlen  said  he  had  heard  it  rumoured 
that  this  time  Favre  had  not  despised  the  champagne.  The 
Chief :  "  Yes,  the  day  before  yesterday  he  refused  to  take  any, 
but  to-day  he  had  several  glasses.  The  first  time  he  had  some 
scruples  of  conscience  about  eating,  but  I  persuaded  him,  and 
his  hunger  doubtless  supported  me,  for  he  ate  like  one  who  had 
had  a  long  fast." 

Hatzfeld  reported  that  the  Mayor,  Rameau,  had  called 
about  an  hour  before  and  asked  if  M.  Favre  was  here.  He 
wanted  to  speak  to  him  and  to  place  himself  at  his  disposal. 
Might  he  do  so  ?  He,  Hatzfeld,  had  replied  that  of  course  he 
did  not  know.  The  Chief :  "  For  a  man  to  come  in  the  night  to 
a  person  who  is  returning  to  Paris  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  bring 
him  before  a  court-martial.  The  audacious  fellow  !  "  Bohlen  : 
"  Mantcy  has  doubtless  already  told  Stieber.  Probably  this 
M.  Rameau  is  anxious  to  return  to  his  cell."  (Rameau  was 
obliged  some  time  since  to  study  the  interior  of  one  of  the  cells 
in  the  prison  in  the  Rue  Saint  Pierre  for  a  few  days  in  comi)any 
with  some  other  members  of  the  corporation  —  if  I  am  not  mis- 
taken, on  account  of  some  refusal  or  some  insolent  reply  about 
supplying  provisions  for  Versailles.) 

The  Minister  then  related  some  particulars  of  his  interview 
w^ith  Favre.  "  I  like  him  better  now  than  at  Ferrieres,"  he 
said.  "Me  sj)oke  a  good  deal  and  in  long,  well-rounded  periods. 
It  was  often  not  necessary  to  pay  attention  or  to  answer.  They 
were  anecdotes  of  former  times.  He  is  a  very  good  raconfrur." 
"  He  was  not  at  all  offended  at  my  recent  letter  to  him.  On  the 
contrary,  he  felt  indebted  to  me  for  calling  his  attention  to  what 
he  owed  to  himself."  "He  also  spoke  of  having  a  villa  near  Paris, 
which  was,  however,  wrecked  and  pillaged.     I  had  it  on  the  tip 


KS71J  LVrKRMITrKNT    STARVATKJX  375 

of  my  tongue  to  say,  '  lUit  not  by  us!  '  but  he  himself  immedi- 
ately added  that  it  had  doubtless  been  done  by  the  Mobiles." 
"  He  then  complained  that  Saint  Cloud  had  been  burning  for  the 
last  three  days,  and  wanted  to  persuade  me  that  we  had  set  the 
palace  there  on  hre."  "  In  speaking  of  the  franctircurs  and  their 
misdeeds,  he  wished  to  call  my  attention  to  our  guerillas  in  18 13 
—  they  indeed  had  been  much  worse.  I  said  to  him:  '  I  don't 
want  to  deny  that,  but  you  are  also  aware  that  the  French  shot 
them  whenever  they  caught  them.  And  they  did  not  shoot 
them  all  in  one  place,  but  one  batch  on  the  spot  where  the  act 
was  committed,  another  batch  at  the  next  halt,  and  so  on,  in 
order  to  serve  as  a  deterrent.'  "  "  He  maintained  that  in  the 
last  engagement,  on  the  19th,  the  National  Guard,  recruited 
from  the  well-to-do  classes,  fought  best,  while  the  battalions 
raised  from  the  lower  classes  were  worthless." 

The  Chief  paused  for  a  while  and  seemed  to  be  reflecting. 
He  then  continued  :  "  If  the  Parisians  first  received  a  supply  of 
provisions  and  were  then  again  put  on  half  rations  and  once 
more  obliged  to  starve,  that  ought,  I  think,  to  work.  It  is  like 
flogging.  When  it  is  administered  continuously  it  is  not  felt 
so  much.  But  when  it  is  suspended  for  a  time  and  then  an- 
other dose  inflicted,  it  hurts !  I  know  that  from  the  criminal 
court  where  I  was  employed.     Flogging  was  still  in  use  there." 

The  subject  of  flogging  in  general  was  then  discussed,  and 
Bohlen,  who  favours  its  retention,  observed  that  the  English 
had  re-introduced  it.  "  Yes,"  said  Bucher,  "  but  first  for  per- 
sonal insult  to  the  Queen,  on  the  occasion  of  an  outrage  against 
the  Royal  person,  and  afterwards  for  garroting."  The  Chief 
then  related  that  in  1863,  when  the  garroters  appeared  in 
London,  he  was  often  obliged  to  go  after  twelve  o'clock  at 
night  through  a  solitary  lane,  containing  only  stables  and  full  of 
heaps  of  horse-dung,  which  led  from  Regent  Street  to  his  lodg- 
ings in  Park  Street.  To  his  terror,  he  read  in  the  papers  that 
a  number  of  these  attacks  had  taken  place  on  that  very  spot. 

Then,  after  a  pause,  the  Minister  said  :  "  This  is  really  an 
unheard-of  proceeding  on  the  part  of  the  English.  They  want 
to  send  a  gunboat  up  the  Seine  "  (Odo  Russell  put  forward  this 
demand,  which  the  Chancellor  absolutely  refused)  "in  order, 
they  say,  to  remove  the  English  families  there.  They  merely 
want  to  ascertain  if  we  have  laid  down  torpedoes  and  then  to  let 


376  THE  LUXEMBURG  QUESTION  [Jan.  26 

the  French  ships  follow  them.  What  swine !  They  are  full 
of  vexation  and  envy  because  we  have  fought  great  battles  here 
—  and  won  them.  They  cannot  bear  to  think  that  shabby  little 
Prussia  should  prosper  so.  The  Prussians  are  a  people  who 
should  merely  exist  in  order  to  carry  on  war  for  them  in  their 
pay.  This  is  the  view  taken  by  all  the  upper  classes  in  Eng- 
land. They  have  never  been  well  disposed  towards  us,  and 
have  always  done  their  utmost  to  injure  us."  "The  Crown 
Princess  herself  is  an  incarnation  of  this  way  of  thinking.  She 
is  full  of  her  own  great  condescension  into  marrying  in  our 
country.  I  remember  her  once  telling  me  that  two  or  three 
merchant  families  in  Liverpool  had  more  silver  plate  than  the 
entire  Prussian  nobility.  'Yes,'  I  replied,  'that  is  possibly  true, 
your  Royal  Highness,  but  we  value  ourselves  for  other  things 
besides  silver.'  " 

The  Minister  remained  silent  for  a  while.  Then  he  said  : 
"I  have  often  thought  over  what  would  have  happened  if  we 
had  gone  to  war  about  Luxemburg  —  should  I  now  be  in  Paris 
or  would  the  French  be  in  Berlin  }  I  think  I  did  well  to  pre- 
vent war  at  that  time.  We  should  not  have  been  nearly  so 
strong  as  we  are  to-day.  At  that  time  the  Hanoverians  would 
not  have  made  trustworthy  soldiers.  I  will  say  nothing  about 
the  Hessians  —  they  would  have  done  well.  The  Schleswig- 
Holstein  men  have  now  fought  like  lions,  but  there  was  no 
army  there  then.  Saxony  was  also  useless.  The  army  had 
been  disbanded  and  had  to  be  recruited  over  again.  And  there 
was  little  confidence  to  be  placed  in  the  South  Germans.  The 
Wiirtembcrgers,  what  excellent  fellows  they  are  now,  quite  first 
rate!  But  in  1866  they  would  have  been  laughed  at  by  every 
soldier  as  they  marched  into  Frankfort  like  so  many  militiamen. 
The  Baden  troops  were  also  not  up  to  the  mark.  lieycr,  and 
indeed  the  Grand  Duke,  has  since  then  done  a  great  deal  for 
them."  "  It  is  true  that  public  opinion  throughout  Germany 
would  have  been  on  our  side  had  we  wished  to  fight  for  Luxem- 
burg. But  that  was  not  enough  to  compensate  for  such  defi- 
ciencies. Moreover,  we  had  not  right  on  our  side.  I  have 
never  confessed  it  publicly,  but  I  can  say  it  here  :  after  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Confederation  the  Grand  Duke  had  become  the 
sovereign  of  Luxemburg  and  could  have  done  what  he  liked 
with  the  country.     It  would  have  been   mean  of   him  to  part 


iS;!  )  A   GKIM    JOKE  377 

with  it  for  money,  l)ut  it  was  open  to  him  to  cede  it  to  France. 
Our  riiijht  of  occiiinition  was  also  not  well  founded.  Properly- 
speaking,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  Confederation  we  ought 
no  longer  to  have  occupied  even  Rastatt  and  Mayence.  I  said 
that  in  the  Council  —  I  had  at  that  time  yet  another  idea, 
namely,  to  hand  over  Luxemburg  to  lielgium.  In  that  case  we 
should  have  united  it  to  a  country  on  behalf  of  whose  neutrality, 
as  people  then  thought,  England  would  intervene.  That  would 
also  have  strengthened  the  German  element  there  against  the 
French-speaking  inhabitants,  and  at  the  same  time  have  secured 
a  good  frontier.  My  proposal  was  not  received  with  any 
favour,  and  it  is  just  as  well  as  it  has  turned  out." 

Bismarck-Bohlen  drew  attention  to  a  capital  cartoon  in 
KladdcradatscJi :  Napoleon  waiting  on  the  platform  of  the  rail- 
way station  and  saying,  "  They  have  already  given  the  signal  to 
start."  He  has  put  on  an  ermine  cloak  for  his  journey  to  Paris, 
and  is  carrying  his  portmanteau  in  his  hand.  The  Chief,  how- 
ever, observed  :  "  Doubtless  he  thinks  so,  and  he  may  be  right. 
But  I  fear  he  will  miss  the  train.  Yet,  after  all,  there  may  be 
no  other  way  left.  He  would  be  easier  to  convince  than  Favre. 
But  he  would  always  require  half  the  army  to  maintain  him  on 
the  throne." 

TJutrsday,  Ja7iuary  26th.  ■ —  The  Chief  drove  off  to  see  the 
King  at  10.30  a.m. 

Herr  Hans  von  Rochow  and  Count  Lehndorff  dined  with  us. 
The  Chief  talked  about  Favre :  "  He  told  me  that  on  Sundays 
the  boulevards  are  still  full  of  fashionably  dressed  women  with 
pretty  children.  I  remarked  to  him,  '  I  am  surprised  at  that. 
I  wonder  you  have  not  yet  eaten  them  ! '  "  As  some  one  noticed 
that  the  firing  was  particularly  heavy  to-day,  the  Minister  ob- 
served :  ''  I  remember  in  the  criminal  court  we  once  had  a 
subordinate  official  —  I  believe  his  name  was  Stepki  —  whose 
business  it  was  to  administer  the  floggings.  He  was  accustomed 
to  lay  on  the  last  three  strokes  with  exceptional  vigour  —  as 
a  wholesome  memento  !  "  The  conversation  then  turned  upon 
Stroussberg,  whose  bankruptcy  was  said  to  be  imminent,  and 
the  Chief  said  :  "  He  once  told  me,  '  I  know  I  shall  not  even 
die  in  my  own  house.*  But  for  the  war,  it  would  not  have 
happened  so  soon,  perhaps  not  at  all.  He  always  kept  afloat 
by  issuing  new  shares,  and  the  game  succeeded,  although  other 


3^8  THE   DUC   DE   MOKXY  [Jan.  ::6 

Jews,  who  had  made  money  before  him,  did  their  best  to  spoil 
it.  But  now  comes  the  war,  and  his  Rumanians  have  fallen 
lower  and  lower,  so  that  at  present  one  might  ask  how  much 
they  cost  per  hundredweight.  For  all  that,  he  remains  a  clever 
man  and  indefatigable."  The  mention  of  Stroussberg's  clever- 
ness and  restless  activity  led  on  to  Gambetta,  who  was  said  to 
have  also  "  made  his  five  millions  out  of  the  war."  But  doubts 
were  expressed  on  this  point,  and  I  believe  rightly.  After  the 
Dictator  of  Bordeaux,  it  was  Napoleon's  turn  to  be  discussed, 
and  according  to  Bohlen,  people  said  he  had  saved  at  least  fifty 
millions  during  the  nineteen  years  of  his  reign.  "  Others  say 
eighty  millions,"  added  the  Chief,  "but  I  doubt  it.  Louis 
Philippe  spoiled  the  business.  He  had  riots  arranged,  and 
then  bought  stocks  on  the  Amsterdam  Exchange,  but  at  last 
business  men  saw  through  it."  Hatzfeld  or  Keudell  then  ob- 
served that  this  resourceful  monarch  used  to  fall  ill  from  time 
to  time  with  a  similar  object. 

Morny  was  then  spoken  of  as  having  been  specially  ingen- 
ious in  making  money  in  every  possible  way  under  the  Empire. 
The  Chief  told  us  that  "  when  Morny  was  appointed  Ambas- 
sador to  St.  Petersburg  he  appeared  with  a  whole  collection  of 
elegant  carriages,  some  forty-three  of  them  altogether,  and  all 
his  chests,  trunks,  and  boxes  were  full  of  laces,  silks,  and  femi- 
nine finery,  upon  which,  as  Ambassador,  he  had  to  pay  no 
customs  duty.  Every  servant  had  his  own  carriage,  and  every 
attache  and  secretary  had  at  least  two.  A  few  days  after  his 
arrival  he  sold  off  the  whole  lot  by  auction,  clearing  at  least 
800,000  roubles.  He  was  a  thief,  but  an  amiable  one."  The 
Chief  then,  pursuing  the  same  subject  and  ciuoting  further 
instances,  continued :  "  For  the  matter  of  that,  influential 
])eople  in  St.  Petersburg  understood  this  sort  of  business  -not 
that  they  were  willing  to  take  money  directly.  lUit  when  a 
person  wanted  something,  he  went  to  a  certain  French  shop, 
and  bought  expensive  laces,  gloves,  or  jewellery,  j)erhaps  for 
five  or  six  thousand  roubles.  The  shop  was  run  on  behalf  of 
some  official  or  his  wife.  This  process  repeated,  say,  twice  a 
week,  produced  quite  a  respectable  amount  in  the  course  of  the 
year." 

J^ohlen  called  out  across  the  table  :  "  Do,  please,  tell  that 
lovely  story  about  the  Jew  with  the  torn  besots  who  got  twenty- 


1S71J  A   "LOVELY"    STORY  379 

five  lashes."  Tlic  Chief:  "It  came  about  in  this  way.  One 
day  a  Jew  called  at  our  Chancellerie  declaring  that  he  was 
penniless,  and  wanted  to  be  sent  back  to  Prussia.  He  was 
terribly  tattered,  and  he  had  on  in  particular  a  pair  of  boots  that 
showed  his  naked  toes.  He  was  told  that  he  would  be  sent 
home,  but  then  he  wanted  to  get  other  boots,  as  it  was  so  cold. 
He  demanded  them  as  a  right,  and  became  so  forward  and 
impudent,  screaming  and  calling  names,  that  our  people  did  not 
know  what  to  do  with  him.  And  the  servants  also  could  not 
trust  themselves  to  deal  with  the  furious  creature.  At  length, 
when  the  row  had  become  intolerable,  I  was  called  to  render 
physical  assistance.  I  told  the  man  to  be  quiet  or  I  would  have 
him  locked  up.  He  answered  defiantly  :  '  You  can't  do  that. 
You  have  no  right  whatever  to  do  that  in  Russia  !  '  '  We  shall 
see  !  '  I  replied.  '  I  must  send  you  home,  but  I  am  not  called 
upon  to  give  you  boots,  although  perhaps  I  might  have  done  so. 
But  first  you  shall  receive  punishment  for  your  abominable 
behaviour.'  He  then  repeated  that  I  could  not  touch  him. 
Thereupon  I  opened  the  window  and  beckoned  to  a  Russian 
policeman  who  was  stationed  a  little  way  off.  My  Jew  con- 
tinued to  shriek  and  abuse  us  until  the  policeman,  a  tall  stout 
man,  came  in.  I  said,  'Take  him  with  you  —  lock  him  up  till 
to-morrow  —  twenty-five!'  The  big  policeman  took  the  little 
Jew  with  him,  and  locked  him  up.  He  came  again  next  morn- 
ing quite  transformed,  very  humble  and  submissive,  and  declared 
himself  ready  for  the  journey  without  new  boots.  I  asked  how 
he  had  got  on  in  the  interval.  Badly,  he  said,  very  badly. 
But  what  had  they  done  to  him.?  They  had  —  well,  they  had 
—  physically  maltreated  him.  I  thought  that  when  he  got 
home  he  would  enter  a  complaint  against  me,  or  get  his  case 
into  the  newspapers  —  the  Volks  Zgitu7ig,  or  some  such  popu- 
lar organ.  The  Jews  know  how  to  make  a  row.  But  he  must 
have  decided  otherwise,  for  nothing  more  was  heard  of  him." 
When  I  came  down  to  tea  at  10.30  p.m.,  I  found  the  Chief 
in  conversation  with  the  members  of  Parliament,  Von  Koller 
and  Von  Forckenbeck.  The  Minister  was  just  saying  that 
more  money  would  soon  be  required.  "  We  did  not  want  to 
ask  more  from  the  Reichstag,"  he  said,  "  as  we  did  not  antici- 
pate that  the  war  would  last  so  long.  I  have  written  to  Camp- 
hausen,  but  he  suggests  requisitions  and  contributions.     They 


38o  RBJL'ISITIONS   AND   CONTRIBUTIONS  [Jan.  27 

are  very  difficult  to  collect,  as  the  immense  area  of  country 
over  which  we  are  dispersed  requires  more  troops  than  we  can 
spare  for  purposes  of  coercion.  Two  million  soldiers  would  be 
necessary  to  deal  thoroughly  with  a  territory  of  12,000  German 
square  miles.  Besides,  everything  has  grown  dearer  in  conse- 
quence of  the  war.  When  we  make  a  requisition  we  get 
nothing.  When  we  pay  cash  there  is  always  enough  to  be  had 
in  the  market,  and  cheaper  than  in  Germany.  Here  the  bushel 
of  oats  costs  four  francs,  and  if  it  is  brought  from  Germany  six 
francs.  I  thought  at  first  of  getting  the  contributions  of  the 
different  States  paid  in  advance.  But  that  would  only  amount 
to  twenty  millions,  as  Bavaria  will  keep  her  own  accounts  until 
1872.  Another  way  out  of  the  difficulty  occurred  to  me, 
namely,  to  apply  to  our  Diet  for  a  sum  on  account.  But  we 
must  first  find  out  what  Moltke  proposes  to  extort  from  the 
Parisians,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  city  of  Paris  —  for  that  is 
what  we  are  dealing  with  for  the  present."  P^orckenbeck  was 
of  opinion  that  the  Chief's  plan  would  meet  with  no  insur- 
mountable resistance  in  the  Diet.  It  is  true  the  doctrinaires 
would  raise  objections,  and  others  would  complain  that  Prussia 
should  again  have  to  come  to  the  rescue  and  make  sacrifices 
for  the  rest  of  the  country,  but  in  all  probability  the  majority 
would  go  with  the  Government.  Roller  could  confirm  that 
opinion,  which  he  did. 

Afterwards  an  officer  of  the  dark  blue  hussars,  a  Count 
Arnim,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Le  Mans,  came  in  and  gave 
us  a  great  deal  of  interesting  news.  He  said  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town  appeared  to  be  very  sensible  people  who  dis- 
approved of  (iambetta's  jiolicy,  and  everywhere  exj:)ressed  their 
desire  for  peace.  "  Yes,"  replied  the  Chief,  "that  is  very  good 
of  the  people,  but  how  does  it  help  us  if  with  all  their  good 
sense  they  allow  Gambetta,  time  after  time,  to  stamp  new 
armies  of  150.000  men  out  of  the  ground.''"  Arnim  having 
further  related  that  they  had  again  made  great  numbers  of 
prisoners,  the  Minister  exclaimed:  "That  is  most  unsatisfac- 
tory !  What  shall  we  do  with  them  all  in  the  end  ?  Why 
make  so  many  prisoncMs .'  P^very  one  who  makes  prisoners 
ought  to  be  tried  by  court-martial."  This,  like  many  other 
similar  ex[)ressions,  must  doubtless  not  be  taken  literally,  and 
applies  (jnly  to  the  franctir>Mirs. 


1S71)  (iKNKRAi.  hkal:i(jri'  D'l  1  au I'i't (Ui.t:  3S1 

pyiday,  January  2jth.  —  It  is  said  that  the  bombardment 
ceased  at  midnij^ht.  It  was  to  have  recommenced  at  6  o'clock 
this  mornini;"  in  case  the  Paris  Government  was  not  prepared 
to  agree  to  our  conditions  for  a  truce.  As  it  has  ceased,  the 
Parisians  have  doubtless  yielded.      But  Gambetta  ? 

Moltke  arrives  at  8.30  a.m.,  and  remains  in  conference  with 
the  Chief  for  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  The  P'rench- 
mcn  put  in  an  appearance  shortly  before  ii.  P^avre  (who  has 
had  his  grey  Radical  beard  chpped),  with  thick  underlip,  yellow 
complexion,  and  light  grey  eyes;  General  Beaufort  d'Haut- 
poule,  with  his  aide-de-camp,  Calvel ;  and  Diirrbach,  a  "Chief 
of  the  P^ngineers  of  the  Eastern  Railway."  Beaufort  is  under- 
stood to  have  led  the  attack  on  the  redoubt  at  Montretout  on 
the  19th.  Their  negotiations  with  the  Chief  appear  to  have 
come  to  a  speedy  conclusion,  or  to  have  been  broken  off. 
Shortly  after  twelve  o'clock,  just  as  we  sit  down  to  lunch,  they 
drive  off  again  in  the  carriages  that  brought  them  here.  Favre 
looks  very  depressed.  The  general  is  noticeably  red  in  the 
face,  and  does  not  seem  to  be  quite  steady  on  his  legs.  Shortly 
after  the  P^rench  had  gone  the  Chancellor  came  in  to  us  and 
said:  "I  only  want  a  breath  of  fresh  air.  Please  do  not  dis- 
turb yourselves."  Then,  turning  to  Delbriick  and  shaking  his 
head,  he  said:  "There  is  nothing  to  be  done  with  him.  Men- 
tally incapable  —  drunk,  I  believe.  I  told  him  to  think  it  over 
until  half-past  one.  Perhaps  he  will  have  recovered  by  that 
time.  Muddle-headed  and  ill-mannered.  What  is  his  name .'' 
Something  like  Bouffre  or  Pauvre .''  "  Keudell  said  :  "  Beau- 
fort." The  Chief  :  "  A  distinguished  name,  but  not  at  all  dis- 
tinguished manners."  It  appears,  then,  that  the  general  has 
actually  taken  more  than  he  was  able  to  carry,  perhaps  in  con- 
sequence of  his  natural  capacity  having  been  weakened  by 
hunger. 

At  lunch  it  was  mentioned  that  on  his  way  here,  Forcken- 
beck  saw  the  village  of  Fontenay  still  in  flames.  It  had  been 
fired  by  our  troops  as  a  punishment  for  the  destruction  of  the 
railway  bridges  by  the  mutinous  peasantry.  Delbriick  rejoiced 
with  us  "  that  at  last  adequate  punishment  had  been  once  more 
inflicted." 

In  the  afternoon  we  heard  that  the  Chancellor  drove  off 
shortly  before  i  o'clock,  first  to  see  the  Emperor,  and  then  to 


382  HOW  TO   MANAGE  THE  MOB  [Jan.  27 

Moltke's,  where  he  and  Podbielski  again  met  the  Frenchmen. 
The  latter  afterwards  left  for  Paris,  about  4  o'clock,  and  will 
return  to-morrow  at  noon  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the 
capitulation. 

At  dinner,  the  Chief,  speaking  of  Beaufort,  said  he  had  be- 
haved like  a  man  without  any  breeding.  "He  blustered  and 
shouted  and  swore  like  a  trooper,  and  with  his  '  moi,  general  de 
I'armec  frangaise,'  he  was  almost  unendurable.  Favre,  who  is 
not  very  well  bred  either,  said  to  me  :  'J 'en  suis  humilie ! '  Be- 
sides, he  was  not  so  very  drunk ;  it  was,  rather,  his  vulgar  man- 
ners. At  the  General  Staff  they  were  of  opinion  that  a  man  of 
that  sort  had  been  chosen  in  order  that  no  arrangement  should 
be  come  to.  I  said  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  had  selected  him 
because  it  did  not  matter  for  such  a  person  to  lose  credit  with 
the  public  by  signing  the  capitulation." 

The  Chief  then  continued :  "  I  said  to  Favre  during  our  last 
interview:  *Vous  avez  ete  trahi  —  par  la  fortune.'  He  saw  the 
point  clearly,  but  only  said  :  '  A  qui  le  dites-vous !  Dans  trois 
fois  vingt  quatre  heures  je  serai  aussi  compte  au  nombre  des 
traitres.'  He  added  that  his  position  in  Paris  was  very  critical. 
I  proposed  to  him  :  '  Provoqucz  done  une  emeute  pendant  que 
vous  avez  encore  une  armee  pour  I'etouffer.'  He  looked  at  me 
quite  terror-stricken,  as  if  he  wished  to  say.  How  bloodthirsty 
you  are.  I  explained  to  him,  however,  that  that  was  the  only 
right  way  to  manage  the  mob.  Then,  again,  he  has  no  idea 
of  how  things  are  with  us.  He  mentioned  several  times  that 
France  was  the  land  of  liberty,  while  Germany  was  governed 
by  a  despotism.  I  told  him,  for  instance,  that  we  wanted 
money  and  that  Paris  must  supply  some.  He  suggested  that 
we  should  raise  a  loan.  I  replied  that  that  could  not  be  done 
without  the  approval  of  the  Diet.  '  Ah,'  he  said,  *  you  can 
surely  get  five  hundred  million  francs  without  the  Chamber.' 
I  answered  :  '  No,  not  five  francs.'  But  he  would  not  believe  it. 
I  told  him  that  I  had  been  at  loggerheads  with  the  popular 
representatives  for  four  whole  years,  but  that  the  raising  of  a 
loan  without  the  Diet  was  the  limit  to  which  I  went,  and  which 
it  never  occurred  to  mc  to  overstep.  That  seemed  to  disconcert 
him  somewhat,  but  he  only  said  that  in  France  'on  ne  se  gene- 
rait  i:)as.'  And  yet  he  returned  afterwards  to  the  immense 
frccdiMii  which  they  enjoy  in  P>ance.      It  is  really  funny  to  hear 


1S71J  A    KUSblAN    NOTE    IX    RUSSIAN  383 

a  Frenchman  talk  in  that  way,  and  particularly  Favrc,  who  has 
always  been  a  member  of  the  Opposition.  But  that's  their  way. 
You  can  j^ixe  a  Frenchman  twenty-five  lashes,  and  if  you  only 
make  a  fine  speech  to  him  about  the  freedom  and  dignity  of 
man  of  which  those  lashes  are  the  expression,  and  at  the  same 
time  strike  a  fitting  attitude,  he  will  persuade  himself  that  he  is 
not  being  thrashed." 

"Ah,  Keudell,"  said  the  Chief  suddenly,  "it  just  occurs  to 
me.  I  must  have  my  full  powers  drawn  up  for  to-morrow,  of 
course  in  German.  The  German  pjnperor  must  only  write  Ger- 
man. The  Minister  can  be  guided  by  circumstances.  Official 
communications  must  be  written  in  the  language  of  the  country, 
not  in  a  foreign  tongue.  Bcrnstorff  was  the  first  to  try  to  intro- 
duce that  system  in  our  case,  but  he  went  too  far  with  it.  He 
wrote  to  all  the  diplomatists  in  German,  and  they  replied,  of 
course  by  agreement,  each  in  his  own  language,  Russian,  Span- 
ish, Swedish,  and  what  not,  so  that  he  had  to  have  a  whole 
army  of  translators  in  the  office.  That  was  how  I  found  mat- 
ters when  I  came  into  power.  Budberg  (the  Russian  Ambassa- 
dor in  Berlin)  sent  me  a  note  in  Russian.  That  was  too  much 
for  nie.  If  they  wanted  to  have  their  revenge  Gortchakoff 
should  have  w^ritten  in  Russian  to  our  Ambassador  in  St.  Peters- 
burg. That  would  have  been  the  right  way.  It  is  only  fair  to 
ask  that  the  representatives  of  foreign  countries  should  under- 
stand and  speak  the  language  of  the  State  to  which  they  are 
accredited.  But  it  was  unfair  to  send  me  in  Berlin  a  reply  in 
Russian  to  a  note  in  German.  I  decided  that  all  communica- 
tions received  in  other  languages  than  German,  French,  Eng- 
lish, and  Italian  should  be  left  unnoticed  and  put  away  in  the 
archives.  Budberg  then  wrote  screed  after  screed,  always  in 
Russian.  No  answer  was  returned  and  the  documents  were  all 
laid  by  with  the  State  papers.  At  last  he  came  himself  and 
asked  why  he  had  received  no  reply.  *  Reply ! '  I  exclaimed. 
'To  what.'''  Why,  he  had  written  a  month  ago  and  had  after- 
wards sent  me  several  reminders.  '  Ah,  quite  so ! '  I  said, 
'  There  is  a  great  pile  of  documents  in  Russian  downstairs,  and 
yours  are  probably  amongst  them.  But  we  have  no  one  who 
understands  Russian,  and  I  have  given  instructions  for  all  doc- 
uments written  in  a  language  we  do  not  understand  to  be  put 
away  in   the   archives.'      It  was    then  arranged  that  Budberg 


384  CAPITULATION   AND   ARMISTICE  [Jan,  28 

should  write  in   French,  and  the  Foreign  Office  also  when  it 
suited  them." 

The  Chief  then  talked  about  the  French  negotiators  and 
said  :  "  M.  Durrbach  introduced  himself  as  '  membre  de  I'admin- 
istration  du  Chemin  de  fer  de  I'Est;  j'y  suis  beaucoup  interesse.' 
—  If  he  only  knew  what  we  intend."  (Probably  the  cession  of 
the  Eastern  Railway.)  Hatzfeld  :  "  He  threw  up  his  hands  in 
dismay  when  the  General  Staff  pointed  out  to  him  on  the  map 
the  tunnels,  bridges,  &c.,  destroyed  by  the  French  themselves. 
'  I  have  always  been  against  that,'  he  said,  '  and  I  pointed  out 
to  them  that  a  bridge  could  be  repaired  in  three  hours  —  but 
they  would  not  listen  to  me.' "  The  Chief :  "  Repaired  after 
a  fashion,  certainly,  but  not  a  railway  bridge  capable  of  carry- 
ing a  train.  They  will  find  it  hard  now  to  bring  up  provisions 
to  Paris,  particularly  if  they  have  committed  the  same  stupid 
destruction  in  the  west.  I  think  they  rely  upon  drawing  sup- 
plies from  Brittany  and  Normandy,  where  there  are  large  flocks 
of  sheep,  and  from  the  ports.  To  my  knowledge  there  are 
plenty  of  bridges  and  tunnels  in  those  parts  too,  and  if  they 
have  destroyed  them  they  will  find  themselves  in  great  straits. 
I  hope,  moreover,  that  people  in  London  will  only  send  them 
hams  and  not  bread  !  " 

Satitrday,  January  2W1.  —  At  11  o'clock  the  French  negotia- 
tors again  arrived  —  Favre,  Durrbach,  and  two  others,  who  are 
understood  to  be  also  leading  railway  officials ;  and  two  officers, 
another  general,  and  an  aide-de-camp,  both  men  with  a  good 
presence.  They  take  lunch  with  us.  Then  follows  a  lengthy 
negotiation  at  Moltke's  lodgings.  The  Chief  afterwards  dictates 
to  the  Secretaries  Willisch  and  Saint  Blanquart  the  treaties  of 
capitulation  and  armistice,  which  are  drawn  up  in  duplicate. 
They  are  afterwards  signed  and  sealed  by  Bismarck  and  l-'\ivre, 
at  twenty  minutes  past  seven,  in  the  green  room  next  to  the 
Minister's  study  upstairs. 

The  P'renchmen  dined  with  us.  The  general  (Valden  is  his 
name)  ate  little  and  hardly  spoke  at  all.  P'avre  was  also  de- 
jected and  taciturn.  The  aide-de-camp,  M.  d'llerisson,  did  not 
appear  to  be  so  much  affected,  and  the  railway  officials,  after 
their  long  privations,  devoted  themselves  with  considerable 
gusto  to  the  pleasures  of  the  table.  According  to  what  I  can 
gather  from  the  latter  they  have,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  been   on 


iSyiJ  THE    TARIS    F(JRTS   OCCUPIED  385 

very  short  commons  in  Paris  for  some  time  past,  and  the  death 
rate  last  week  amounted  to  about  five  thousand.  The  mortality 
was  especially  heavy  amongst  children  up  to  two  years  of  age, 
and  coffins  for  these  tiny  French  citizens  were  to  be  seen  in  all 
directions.  Delbriick  declared  afterwards  that  "  Favre  and  the 
General  looked  like  two  condemned  prisoners  who  were  going 
to  the  gallows  next  morning.     I  pitied  them." 

Keudel  expects  that  peace  will  soon  be  concluded  and  that 
we  shall  be  back  in  Berlin  within  a  month.  Shortly  before 
10  o'clock  a  bearded  gentleman,  apparently  about  forty-five,  who 
gave  his  name  as  Duparc,  called  and  was  immediately  con- 
ducted to  the  Chief,  with  whom  he  spent  about  two  hours.  He 
is  understood  to  be  the  former  French  Minister  Duvernois, 
coming  from  Wilhelmshohe  with  proposals  for  peace.  The 
capitulation  and  armistice  do  not  yet  mean  the  end  of  the  war 
with  France. 

Sii^ufay,  January  29///.  —  Our  troops  moved  forward  to 
occupy  the  forts.  In  the  morning  read  despatches  respecting 
the  London  Conference,  and  other  subjects,  as  well  as  the 
treaties  for  the  armistice  and  capitulation  signed  yesterday. 
Bernstorff  reported  that  Musurus  became  very  violent  at  one 
of  the  sittings  of  the  Conference.  He  could  not  conceive  why 
the  stipulation  closing  the  Dardanelles  against  Russian  men- 
of-war  should  not  be  worded  in  an  indirect  and  therefore  less 
offensive  form  for  Russia,  and  at  the  same  time  quite  as  accept- 
able to  the  Porte.  From  another  of  Bcrnstorff's  despatches  the 
Chief  appears  to  have  hinted  that  Napoleon  should  not  miss 
the  right  moment.  It  is  also  stated  that  Palikao,  who  was  of 
the  same  opinion,  thought  it  would  be  dangerous  to  agree 
in  the  cajMtulation  to  leave  the  National  Guard  under  arms. 
Vinoy  and  Ronciere,  being  in  favour  of  the  Emperor,  would 
doubtless  be  the  right  men  to  assume  command  of  the  troops 
in  the  city. 

Our  copy  of  the  capitulation  fills  ten  folio  pages,  and  is 
stitched  together  with  silk  in  the  French  colours,  on  the  end  of 
which  Favre  has  impressed  his  seal. 

We  were  joined  at  lunch  by  Count  Henckel,  who  has  been 
appointed  Prefect  at  Metz.  He  maintained  that  in  about  five 
years  the  elections  in  his  department  would  be  favourable  to 
the  Government ;  indeed,  he  w^as  confident  even  now  of  being 

VOL.  I. 2C 


386  STARVATION   COMMONS   IN   PARIS  [Jan.  29 

able  to  bring  about  that  result.  In  Alsace,  however,  the  pros- 
pect was  not  so  good,  as  Germans  are  not  so  docile  to  authority 
as  the  French.  He  also  mentioned  that  his  department  had 
really  suffered  severely.  At  the  commencement  of  the  war  it 
had  some  thirty-two  to  thirty-five  thousand  horses,  and  now  he 
believed  there  were  not  more  than  five  thousand  left. 

Before  dinner  I  read  further  drafts,  including  a  memoran- 
dum, in  which  the  Chief  explained  to  the  King  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  demand  from  Favre,  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
capitulation,  the  surrender  of  the  fiags  of  the  French  regiments 
in  Paris. 

We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  Count  Henckel  and  the  French 
aide-de-camp  who  was  here  yesterday.  The  latter,  whose  full 
name  is  d'Herisson  de  Saulnier,  wore  a  black  hussar  uniform, 
with  yellow  shoulder-straps  and  embroidery  on  the  sleeves.  He 
is  said  to  understand  and  speak  German,  yet  the  conversation, 
into  which  the  Chief  entered  with  zest,  was  for  the  most  part 
carried  on  in  French.  In  the  absence  of  Favre  and  the  General 
(the  former  was  still  in  the  house,  but  as  he  was  very  busy  he 
had  his  dinner  sent  up  to  him  in  the  small  drawing-room)  the 
aide-de-camp  was  more  lively  and  amusing  than  yesterday.  He 
bore  the  whole  burden  of  the  conversation  for  a  considerable 
time,  with  a  series  of  droll  anecdotes.  The  scarcity  of  food  in 
the  city  had  become  of  late  very  painfully  perceptible,  but  his 
experience  would  appear  to  have  been  more  with  the  amusing, 
than  with  the  serious,  side  of  the  question.  He  said  that  for 
him  the  most  interesting  period  of  their  fast  was  "while  they 
were  eating  up  the  Jardin  des  Plantes."  Elephant  meat  cost 
twenty  francs  per  kilogramme  and  tasted  like  coarse  beef,  and 
they  had  really  had  "  filets  de  chameau  "  and  "  cotelettes  de 
tigre."  A  dog  flesh  market  was  held  in  the  Rue  Saint  Honore, 
the  price  being  two  francs  fifty  per  kilo.  There  were  hardly 
any  more  dogs  to  be  seen  in  Paris,  and  whenever  people  caught 
sight  of  one,  they  immediately  hunted  it  down.  It  was  the 
same  with  cats.  If  a  pigeon  alighted  on  a  roof  a  view  holloa 
was  at  once  raised  in  the  street.  Only  the  carrier  jjigeons  were 
spared.  The  despatches  were  fastened  in  the  middle  of  their 
tail  feathers,  of  which  they  ought  to  have  nine.  If  one  of  them 
happened  to  have  only  eight,  they  said  :  "  Ce  n'est  qu'un  civil" 
and  it  had  to  go  the  way  of  all  flesh.     A  lady  is  said  to  have 


1871 J  RUSSIAN    ADVICE   ADoUT    LUXEMBURG  387 

remarked:  "Jamais  jc  ne  mangerai  plus  de  pigeon,  car  je  croi- 
rais  toujours  avoir  mange  un  facteur." 

In  return  for  these  and  other  stories  the  Chief  related  a 
number  of  things  which  were  not  yet  known  in  the  drawing- 
rooms  and  clubs  of  Paris,  and  which  people  there  might  be  glad 
to  hear,  as  for  instance  the  shabby  behaviour  of  Rothschild  at 
Ferrieres,  and  the  way  in  which  the  Elector  of  Hesse  trans- 
formed Rothschild's  grandfather  Amschel  from  a  little  Jew  into 
a  great  one.  The  Chancellor  repeatedly  referred  to  the  latter 
as  the  "  Juif  de  cour,"  and  afterwards  gave  a  description  of  the 
domesticated  Jews  of  the  Polish  nobility. 

On  Bohlen  reporting  later  on  that  he  had,  in  accordance  with 
instructions,  sent  certain  papers  to  "the  Emperor,"  the  Chief 
observed  :  "  The  Emperor .-'  I  envy  those  to  whom  thu  new  title 
already  comes  so  trippingly."  Abeken  returned  from  his 
Majesty's  and  announced  that  "  The  matter  of  the  flags  was 
settled."  The  Chief :  "  Have  you  also  fired  off  my  revolver 
letter  ?  "     Abeken  :  "  Yes,  Excellency,  it  has  been  discharged." 

After  dinner  read  drafts  and  reports,  amongst  the  latter  a 
very  interesting  one  in  which  Russia  advises  us  to  leave  Metz 
and  German  Lorraine  to  the  French,  and  to  annex  a  neighbour- 
ing piece  of  territory  instead.  According  to  a  recent  despatch 
from  St.  Petersburg,  Gortchakoff  has  suggested  that  Germany 
might  take  Luxemburg  and  leave  the  French  a  corresponding 
portion  of  Lorraine.  The  geographical  position  of  the  Grand 
Duchy  indicated  that  it  should  form  part  of  Germany,  and 
Prince  Henry,  who  is  devotedly  attached  to  his  separate  Court, 
alone  stood  in  the  way.  King  William  wrote  on  the  margin  of 
the  despatch  that  this  suggestion  was  to  be  absolutely  rejected. 
The  Chief  then  replied  as  follows :  "  The  future  position  of 
Luxemburg  would,  it  is  true,  be  an  unpleasant  one  —  not  for  us, 
but  rather  for  the  Grand  Duchy  itself.  We  must  not,  however, 
exercise  any  compulsion,  nor  take  the  property  of  others.  We 
must,  therefore,  adhere  to  the  programme  communicated  five 
months  ago  to  St.  Petersburg,  especially  as  we  have  since  then 
made  great  sacrifices.  The  realisation  of  that  programme  is 
indispensable  for  the  security  of  Germany.  We  must  have  Metz. 
The  German  people  would  not  tolerate  any  alteration  of  the 
programme." 

Favre  did  not  leave  till  10.15  p.m.,  and  then  not  for  Paris, 


388  THE    KEVICTUALLING   OF   PARIS  [Jan.  29 

but  for  his  quarters  here  in  the  Boulevard  du  Roi.  He  will 
come  again  to-morrow  at  noon. 

The  Chief  afterwards  joined  us  at  tea.  In  speaking  of  the 
capitulation  and  the  armistice,  Bohlen  asked :  "  But  what  if  the 
others  do  not  agree  —  Gambetta^and  the  Prefects  in  the  south.''" 
"  Well,  in  that  case  we  have  the  forts  which  give  us  the  control 
of  the  city,"  replied  the  Chief.  "  The  King  also  could  not 
understand  that,  and  inquired  what  was  to  happen  if  the  people 
at  Bordeaux  did  not  ratify  the  arrangement.  '  Well,'  I  replied, 
'  then  we  remain  in  the  forts  and  keep  the  Parisians  shut  up, 
and  perhaps  in  that  case  we  may  refuse  to  prolong  the  armistice 
on  the  19th  of  February.'  In  the  meantime  they  have  delivered 
up  their  arms,  and  they  must  pay  the  contribution.  Those  who 
have  given  a  material  pledge  under  a  treaty  are  all  the  worse  off 
if  they  cannot  fulfil  its  conditions." 

Favre  had,  it  seems,  confessed  to  the  Chief  that  he  had  pro- 
ceeded "  un  peu  temeraircment  "  in  the  matter  of  the  revictual- 
ling  of  Paris.  He  really  did  not  know  whether  he  would  be 
able  to  provide  in  good  time  for  the  hundreds  of  thousands  in 
the  city.  Somebody  observed  :  "  In  case  of  necessity  Stosch 
could  supply  them  with  live-stock  and  flour."  The  Chief: 
"  Yes,  so  long  as  he  can  do  so  without  injury  to  ourselves." 
Bismarck-Bohlen  was  of  opinion  that  we  need  not  give  them 
anything ;  let  them  see  for  themselves  where  they  could  get 
supplies,  &c.  The  Chief :  "  Well,  then,  you  would  let  them 
starve.''"  Bohlen  :"  Certainly."  The  Chief:  "But  then  how 
arc  we  to  get  our  contribution  .-'  " 

Later  on  the  Minister  said  :  "  Business  of  State,  negotiations 
with  the  enemy,  do  not  irritate  me.  Their  objections  to  my 
ideas  and  demands,  even  when  they  are  unreasonable,  leave  me 
quite  cool.  But  the  petty  grumbling  and  meddling  of  the 
military  authorities  in  political  questions,  and  their  ignorance  of 
what  is  possible  and  not  possible  in  such  matters  !  One  of  them 
comes  and  wants  this,  another  one  that,  and  when  you  have  got 
rid  of  the  first  two,  a  third  one  turns  up  — ■  an  aide-de-camp  or 
aide-de-camp  general  — who  says  :  '  But,  your  Excellency,  surely 
that  is  impossible,'  or  '  We  must  have  this  too  in  addition,  else 
we  shall  be  in  danger  of  our  lives.'  And  yesterday  they  went 
so  far  as  to  insist  that  a  condition  (i.e.,  for  the  surrender  of  the 
flags),  which  was  not  mcntifincd  in  the  negotiations,  should  be 


iSjii  Dii'LOMATic  .\ii:ssi;xg1':r.s  389 

iiitroduced  into  a  document  that  was  already  signed.  I  said  to 
them,  however:  'We  have  committed  many  a  crime  in  this  war 

—  but  falsification  of  deeds!  No,  gentlemen,  really  that  cannot 
be  done.'  " 

Bernstorff,  it  was  mentioned,  reports  that  he  had  informed 
the  Conference  that  from  this  time  forward  he  represented  the 
German  lunpire  and  Emperor;  and  that  the  other  members 
received  this  announcement  with  approval.  Thereupon  the 
Chief  remarked :  "  Bernstorff  is  after  all  a  man  who  has  had 
business  experience.     How  can  he  do  such  things  ?     His  wife 

—  what's  her  name  .-'  Augusta  —  no,  Anna  —  will  have  a  fine 
opinion  of  herself  now.  Imperial  Ambassadress !  I  cannot 
lay  much  store  by  such  titles.  A  prosperous  and  powerful 
King  is  better  than  a  weak  Emperor,  and  a  rich  Baron  better 
than  a  poor  Count."  "Such  an  Emperor  as  that  of  Brazil  or 
Mexico  !  "  "  With  a  salary  of  800,000  florins,"  interjected  Hol- 
stcin.  The  Chief :  "  Well,  that  would  be  enough  to  get  on 
with.     They  require  no  firing  and  no  winter  clothes." 

Hatzfeld  mentioned  that  a  Spanish  secretary  of  embassy 
had  called.  He  had  come  from  Bordeaux  and  wanted  to  enter 
Paris  in  order  to  bring  away  his  countrymen.  He  also  had  a 
letter  from  Chaudordy  for  Favre,  and  was  in  great  haste. 
What  answer  should  be  given  to  him  ?  The  Chief  stooped 
down  a  little  over  the  table,  then  sat  bold  upright  again,  and 
said:  "Attempting  to  carry  a  despatch  from  one  member  of  the 
enemy's  Government  to  another  through  our  lines  —  that  is  a 
case  exactly  suited  for  a  court-martial.  When  he  comes  back 
you  will  treat  the  matter  in  a  very  serious  way :  receive  him 
coolly,  look  surprised,  and  say  that  we  must  complain  to 
the  new  King  of  Spain  with  regard  to  such  a  breach  of  neu- 
trality and  demand  satisfaction.  Besides,  I  am  astonished  that 
Stiehle  should  have  let  the  fellow  pass.  These  soldiers  always 
pay  too  much  deference  to  diplomats.  And  even  if  he  had 
been  an  ambassador,  Metternich  for  instance,  he  should 
have  been  turned  back  even  if  had  to  freeze  and  starve  in 
consequence.  Indeed,  such  carrier  service  borders  closely  on 
spying." 

The  rush  of  people  to  and  out  of  Paris  that  was  now  to  be 
apprehended  then  came  up  for  discussion.  The  Chief:  "Well, 
the  French  will  not  let  so  very  many  out,  and  we  shall  only  let 


390  l.OKD   GRAXVILI.K'S   PEACE   PROPOSALS  [Jan.  jo 

those  pass  who  have  a  permit  from  the  authorities  inside,  and 
perhaps  not  all  of  those." 

Some  one  said  that  Rothschild,  who  had  been  supplied  with 
a  safe-conduct,  wanted  to  come  out ;  upon  which  the  Chief :  "  It 
would  be  well  to  detain  him  —  as  a  franctireur,  and  include  him 
amongst  the  prisoners  of  war.  (To  Keudell :)  Just  inquire  into 
the  matter.  I  mean  it  seriously."  Bohlcn  exclaimed:  "Then 
Bleichrodcr  will  come  rushing  over  here  and  prostrate  himself 
in  the  name  of  all  the  Rothschild  family."  The  Chief :  "  In 
that  case  we  will  send  him  in  to  join  them  in  Paris,  where  he 
can  have  his  share  of  the  dog  hunting." 

Astonishment  was  then  expressed  that  the  Daily  Telegraph 
should  have  already  published  a  detailed  epitome  of  the  con- 
vention signed  yesterday,  and  in  this  connection  Stieber,  Favre's 
fellow-lodger,  was  mentioned.  The  English  correspondent  had 
acknowledged,  according  to  Buchcr,  that  he  had  received  the 
news  from  Stieber,  and  the  Minister  added  :  "  I  am  convinced 
that  Stieber  opened  Favre's  writing  desk  with  a  picklock,  and 
then  made  extracts  from  his  papers  which  he  gave  to  the  Eng- 
lishman." This  is  scarcely  jjrobable,  as  Stieber's  knowledge  of 
French  is  inadequate  for  that  purpose.  He  much  more  prob- 
ably received  the  news  from  his  patron  Bohlen,  or  perhaps  from 
some  officer  who  heard  it  from  the  General  Staff,  who  —  as  the 
Chancellor  recently  remarked  —  "arc  very  obliging  and  com- 
municative in  such  matters." 

Monday,  January  30///.  —  Favrc  and  other  Frenchmen,  in- 
cluding the  Chief  or  Prefect  of  the  Paris  police,  were  busily 
engaged  with  the  Chief  during  the  afternoon,  and  dined  with 
him  at  5.30  p.m.  The  secretaries  and  I  were  to  go  to  the  Hotel 
des  Reservoirs,  as  there  was  not  room  enough  at  table.  I  re- 
mained at  home,  however,  and  translated  Granville's  latest  peace 
proposals  for  the  Emperor. 

Abeken  came  up  to  me  after  dinner  to  get  the  translation,  and 
was  sorry  I  had  not  been  jiresent,  as  the  conversation  was  spe- 
cially interesting.  The  Chief  had  told  the  P'rcnchmen,  amongst 
other  things,  that  to  be  consistent  in  one's  jiolicy  was  frequently 
a  mistake,  and  only  shf)\vc(l  obstinacy  and  narrow-mindedness. 
One  must  modify  his  course  of  action  in  accordance  with  events, 
with  the  situation  of  affairs,  with  the  possibilities  of  the 
case,  taking  the  relations  of  things  into  account  and  ser\'ing  hir. 


1S71]  A    rkOFOUND    RF.MAKK  391 

country  as  the  ojiportiinity  offers  and  not  accordinj^  to  his  ojiin- 
ions,  which  are  often  prejudices.  When  he  first  entered  into 
poHtical  life,  as  a  youn^;  and  inexperienced  man,  he  had  very 
different  views  and  aims  to  those  which  he  had  at  present.  Me 
had,  however,  altered  and  reconsidered  his  opinions,  and  had 
not  hesitated  to  sacrifice  his  wishes,  either  partially  or  wholly, 
to  the  requirements  of  the  day,  in  order  to  be  of  service.  One 
must  not  impose  his  own  leanings  and  desires  upon  his  country. 
"  La  patrie  veut  etre  scrvie  ct  pas  dominee."  This  reniark 
greatly  impressed  the  Parisian  gentlemen,  of  course  principally 
because  of  its  striking  form.  Favre  replied  :  "  C'est  bien  juste. 
Monsieur  le  Comte,  c'est  profond."  Another  of  the  French- 
men also  declared  enthusiastically :  "  Oui,  Messieurs,  c'est  un 
mot  profond." 

Bucher,  when  I  went  down  to  tea,  confirmed  the  above  par- 
ticulars, and  related  that  Favre  after  praising  the  truth  and 
profundity  of  the  Chief's  remark  —  which,  of  course,  was  made 
for  the  edification  of  the  Parisians,  just  as  in  general  his  table 
talk  is  intended  for  the  benefit  of  his  guests — must  needs  add 
the  following  hctise :  "  Ndanmoins  c'est  un  beau  spectacle  de 
voir  un  homme,  qui  n'a  jamais  change  ses  principes."  The  rail- 
way director,  who  appeared  to  Bucher  to  be  more  intelligent  than 
Favre,  added,  in  reference  to  the  "  servie  et  pas  dominee,"  that 
that  amounted  to  men  of  genius  subordinating  themselves  to 
the  will  and  opinions  of  the  majority,  and  that  majorities  were 
always  deficient  in  intelligence,  knowledge,  and  character.  The 
Chief  made  a  lofty  reply  to  this  objection,  stating  that  with  him 
{i.e.,  with  the  man  of  genius,  the  hero)  the  consciousness  of  his 
responsibility  before  God  was  one  of  his  guiding  stars.  He 
opposed  to  the  droit  du  genie,  to  which  his  interlocutor  had 
given  such  a  high  place,  the  sense  of  duty  (doubtless  meaning 
what  Kant  describes  as  the  categorical  imperative),  which  he 
maintained  to  be  nobler  and  more  powerful. 

A  little  after  1 1  o'clock  the  Chancellor  joined  us  at  tea.  "  I 
am  really  curious,"  he  said,  "  to  see  what  Gambetta  will  do.  It 
looks  as  if  he  wanted  to  think  over  the  matter  further,  as  he  has 
not  yet  replied.  I  think,  too,  he  will  ultimately  give  way.  Be- 
sides, if  not  it  will  be  all  right.  I  should  have  no  objection  to  a 
little  '  Main  line  '  across  France.  These  Frenchmen  are  really 
very  funny  people.     Favre  comes  to    mc    with    a    face    like  a 


392  UNPRACTICAL   I  RENCIIMEN  [Jan.  30 

martyred  saint,  and  looks  as  if  he  had  some  most  important 
communication  to  make.  So  I  say  to  him,  '  Shall  we  go  up- 
stairs ? '  '  Yes,'  he  says,  '  let  us  do  so.'  But  when  we  are  there 
he  sits  down  and  writes  letter  after  letter,  and  I  wait  in  vain  for 
any  important  statement  or  piece  of  news  from  him.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  had  nothing  to  say.  What  he  has  done  for 
us  would  go  into  two  pages  of  note-paper."  "And  this  Prefect 
of  Police !  I  have  never  in  my  whole  life  met  such  an  unprac- 
tical man.  We  are  expected  to  advise  and  help  them  in  every- 
thing. In  the  course  of  half  an  hour  he  fires  all  sorts  of  requests 
into  me,  so  that  at  last  I  nearly  lost  patience,  and  said  to  him, 
'  But,  my  good  sir,  would  it  not  be  better  to  let  me  have  all  this 
in  writing  .-*  Otherwise  it  cannot  be  properly  attended  to,  for  it 
is  impossible  for  me  to  carry  it  all  in  my  head.'  Thousands  of 
things  pass  through  one's  mind,  and  when  I  think  seriously  of 
one  matter  I  lose  sight  of  all  others." 

The  conversation  then  turned  on  the  difficulty  of  supplying 
the  Parisians  with  provisions.  Several  railways  were  useless, 
at  least  for  the  time  being ;  to  allow  supplies  to  be  drawn  from 
those  parts  of  France  immediately  adjoining  the  districts  we 
occupy  might  result  in  scarcity  and  embarrassment  to  ourselves ; 
and  the  port  of  Dieppe,  where  they  count  upon  receiving  con- 
signments from  abroad,  could  only  hold  a  few  vessels.  The 
Chief  reckoned  out  how  many  rations  would  be  required  daily, 
and  how  much  could  be  transported  in  moderately  normal  cir- 
cumstances. He  found  that  the  supply  would  be  a  very  scanty 
one,  and  that  possibly  large  numbers  might  still  have  to  starve. 
He  then  added  :  "  Favre  himself  said  to  me  that  they  had  held 
out  too  long.  That  was,  however,  as  he  confessed,  merely  be- 
cause they  knew  we  had  provisions  stored  for  them  at  Lagny. 
They  had  exact  particulars  on  that  point.  At  one  time  we  had 
collected  for  them  there  1,400  loaded  waggons." 

The  levying  of  taxes  and  contributions  was  then  discussed, 
and  the  Chief  explained  to  Maltzahn  the  arrangements  he  wished 
to  see  made.  Instead  of  scattering  our  forces  they  should  in 
general  be  massed  in  the  chief  town  of  the  department  or 
arrondissement,  and  from  these  centres  flying  columns  should 
be  desj)atched  against  those  who  refused  to  pay  taxes,  as  well 
as  against  the  guerillas  and  their  aiders  and  abettors. 

With  regard  to  the  ten   million  francs'  contribution  imposed 


iSyiJ  now    111 K    l.MliOKIAI,    IDKA    UKKJIXATi;!)  393 

upon  the  district  of  I"\)ntciuiy  for  the  destruction  of  the  railway 
bridges,  lienckel  declared,  as  an  expert,  that  that  was  an  im- 
possible demand — -they  could  not  squeeze  even  two  millions 
out  of  the  peoi)le.  "  Probably  not  one  million,"  remarked  the 
Chief.  "  Ikit  that  is  our  way  of  doing  things.  All  sorts  of 
terrible  threats  are  constantly  uttered,  and  then  afterwards 
they  cannot  be  carried  out.  The  people  end  by  seeing  through 
that  sort  of  thing,  and  get  accustomed  to  the  threats." 

Then  followed  a  highly  interesting  and  detailed  review  of 
the  various  phases  in  the  development  of  the  scheme  for  the 
accession  of  the  South  German  States  to  the  Northern  Con- 
federation. "While  we  were  still  in  Mainz,"  related  the  Chan- 
cellor, "  the  King  of  Bavaria  wrote  a  letter  to  our  most  gracious 
master  in  w'hich  he  expressed  a  hope  that  he  would  not  be 
mediatised.  As  a  matter  of  course,  his  mind  was  set  at  ease 
on  that  point.  But  the  King  did  not  want  the  answer  to  be 
quite  so  categorical.  That  was  the  first  conflict  between  the 
King  and  myself  during  the  war.  I  told  him  that  King  Lewis 
would  probably  in  that  case  withdraw  his  troops,  and  that  he 
would  be  within  his  right  in  doing  so.  I  remember  it  was  in 
the  corner  room.  It  was  a  hard  struggle,  and  finally  he  left 
me  still  in  doubt  as  to  what  he  was  going  to  do.  After  the  first 
great  victories  and  before  Sedan,  there  was  another  idea,  namely, 
that  of  a  military  revolution  and  a  military  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, who  should  be  proclaimed  by  the  troops,  including  the 
Bavarians.  That  idea  was  not  to  my  liking.  Subsequently, 
when  Bray  came  here,  they  had  thought  out  a  plan  of  their 
own  in  Munich.  They  felt  themselves  to  be  safe,  and  wished 
for  something  more.  Bray  brought  with  him  the  plan  of  the 
alternating  imperial  dignity.  As  Bray  said  to  me,  an  agree- 
ment could  be  come  to  between  the  North  German  Confedera- 
tion and  Bavaria  or  between  Germany  and  Bavaria.  In  the 
meantime  we  might  very  well  conclude  treaties  with  Baden 
and  Wurtemberg,  and  afterwards  come  to  an  understanding  with 
Bavaria.  I  was  quite  satisfied  with  that.  But  when  I  told  it  to 
Delbriick,  he  looked  as  if  he  were  going  to  faint.  I  said  to  him, 
'  For  Heaven's  sake,  why  not  accept  it .''  It  is  exactly  what  we 
want.'  And  so  it  was  too.  For  when  I  informed  Suckow  and 
Mittnacht,  they  were  beside  themselves  with  rage,  and  imme- 
diately came  to  terms  with  me.     Later  on,  however,  the  King 


394  "AND   THE   GERMAN    EMPIRE   WAS   MADEl"  [Jan.  31 

(of  Wiirtcmberg)  was  induced  to  strike  out  again  in  a  new  line. 
It  was  through  Frau  von  Gasscr,  who  had  great  influence  at  the 
Court  in  Stuttgart.  He  wanted  to  act  once  more  with  Bavaria. 
The  Ministers,  however,  remained  firm,  and  assured  me  they 
would  rather  resign,  and  thus  it  came  about  that  the  Treaty 
with  Wiirtemberg  was  not  concluded  until  afterwards  in  Berlin. 
Finally,  after  all  sorts  of  difficulties  on  both  sides,  the  arrange- 
ment with  Bavaria  was  also  settled.  Now  there  was  only  one 
thing  wanting  —  but  that  was  the  most  important  of  all !  I  saw 
a  way,  and  wrote  a  letter — and  after  that  the  credit  belongs  to 
a  Bavarian  Court  ofificial.  He  achieved  an  almost  impossible 
feat.  In  six  days  he  made  the  journey  there  and  back,  eighteen 
German  miles,  without  a  railway,  to  the  palace  in  the  mountains 
where  the  King  was  staying  —  and  in  addition  to  that  his  wife 
was  ill  at  the  time.  It  was  really  a  great  deal  for  him  to  do. 
He  arrives  at  the  palace,  finds  the  King  unwell  —  suffering  from 
a  tumour  in  the  gum,  or  from  the  after  effects  of  an  operation 
under  chloroform.  He  is  not  to  be  seen.  Well,  but  he  had  a 
letter  from  me  to  deliver  —  very  pressing.  In  vain;  the  King 
will  not  be  disturbed  ;  he  will  do  no  business  to-day.  At  last 
his  Majesty's  curiosity  is  aroused,  and  he  wants  to  know  what 
I  have  to  communicate  to  him  —  and  the  letter  is  well  received. 
But  there  is  no  ink,  no  paper,  no  writing  materials.  They  send 
off  a  groom,  who  ultimately  comes  back  with  some  coarse  letter 
paper;  the  King  writes  his  answer,  just  as  he  is,  in  bed  —  and 
the  German  Empire  is  made  !  " 

Jacoby's  arrest  having  been  mentioned,  the  Chief  observed : 
"Otherwise,  Falkenstcin  acted  quite  sensibly,  but  thanks  to 
that  measure  of  his  and  to  his  refusal  to  release  Jacoby  when  I 
requested  him  to  do  so,  we  were  unable  to  convoke  the  Diet  for 
a  whole  month.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  he  might  have  had 
Jacoby  carved  up  for  himself  into  rhinoceros  cutlets,  but  he 
ought  not  to  have  locked  him  up !  All  he  had  to  show  for  his 
pains  was  the  possession  of  a  dried-up  old  Jew.  The  King,  too, 
would  not  at  first  listen  to  my  representations.  We  were  accord- 
ingly obliged  to  wait,  as  the  Diet  would  have  been  within  its 
right  in  demanding  his  liberation." 

Jacoby's  name  brought  up  that  of  another  congenial  mind, 
viz.,  W:ildcck(thc  Radical  leader  in  the  Prussian  Diet),  of  whom 
the  Chief    gave  the    follf)wing  description:     "Something    like 


iS;!]  Till';    KiXC.    OF    SWKI )I';X'S    lillLI.ICOSE    SI'IIIICII  ?f)5 

l^^avrc,  always  consistent,  his  views  and  decisions  cnt  and  dried 
in  advance,  and,  in  addition  to  that,  a  stately  presence  and  a 
vcnerahle  white  heard,  tine  sj)eeches  delivered  with  the  earnest- 
ness of  dee])-toned  conviction,  even  on  trifjin^;  matters,  that  is 
so  impressive  !  He  makes  a  speech  in  a  voice  throhbing  with 
devotion  to  principle  in  order  to  ])rove  to  you  that  this  spoon  is 
in  the  <;'lass,  and  he  proclaims  that  any  one  who  refuses  to 
accept  that  statement  is  a  scoundrel !  And  all  the  world  believes 
him,  and  praises  him  for  his  staunchness  in  every  key  from 
treble  to  bass." 

Tuesday,  January  31^'/.  —  The  King  of  Sweden  has  delivered 
a  bellicose  speech  from  the  throne.  Why,  ye  gods  }  I  write 
two  paragraphs  under  instructions  from  the  Chief,  and  then  a 
third,  which  calls  attention  to  the  sufferings  during  the  bombard- 
ment of  a  number  of  inoffensive  German  families  who,  for 
various  reasons,  remained  behind  in  Paris  after  the  expulsion  of 
their  fellow-countrymen,  and  commend  Washburne,  the  United 
States  Minister,  for  the  efforts  he  made  to  alleviate  the  lot  of 
these  unfortunate  people.  In  this  respect  he  has  really  acted 
in  a  manner  that  deserves  our  warmest  thanks,  and  has  been 
loyally  assisted  by  his  subordinates. 

The  Parisian  gentlemen  are  again  here,  including  Favre, 
who  has  sent  a  telegram  to  Gambetta  urgently  requesting  him 
to  yield.  It  is  to  be  feared  he  will  not  do  so.  At  least  the 
Prefect  of  Marseilles  is  showing  his  teeth  and  snarling  at  poor 
Favre  with  the  patriotic  declaration  :  "  Je  n'obeis  plus  le  capitule 
de  Bismarck.  Je  ne  le  connais  plus."  Proud  and  staunch  — 
but  danger  is  best  at  a  distance. 

At  tea  I  hear  from  T-5ucher  that  the  Chief  has  been  speaking 
very  strongly  about  Garibaldi,  that  old  dreamer,  whom  Favre 
declares  to  be  a  hero. 

Subsequently  Duparc  had  an  interview  with  the  Minister. 
Shortly  after  ten  the  Chief  joined  us  at  tea.  He  first  spoke  of 
the  unpractical  character  of  the  Frenchmen  who  have  been 
working  with  him  during  the  past  few  days.  Two  Ministers, 
Favre  and  Magnin,  the  Minister  of  Finance  who  has  accom- 
panied him  this  time,  spent  half  an  hour  to-day  worrying  over 
one  telegram.  This  led  him  to  speak  of  the  P'rench  in  general 
and  of  the  entire  Latin  race,  and  to  compare  them  with  the 
Germanic  peoples.      "The  Germans,  the    Germanic    race,"  he 


396  "INTELLIGENT   AliSOLUTISM"  [Jan.  31 

said,  "is,  so  to  speak,  the  male  principle  throughout  Europe  — 
the  fructifying  principle.  The  Celtic  and  Slav  peoples  represent 
the  female  sex.  That  principle  extends  as  far  as  the  North  Sea 
and  then  across  to  England."  I  ventured  to  add  :  "  And  also 
as  far  as  America  and  the  Western  States  of  the  Union,  where 
some  of  our  people  form  the  best  part  of  the  population  and 
influence  the  manners  of  the  rest."  "Yes,"  he  replied,  "those 
are  their  children,  the  fruit  they  bear."  "  But  that  was  to  be 
seen  in  France  while  the  Franks  had  still  the  upper  hand.  The 
Revolution  of  1789  was  the  overthrow  of  the  Germanic  element 
by  the  Celtic.  And  what  have  we  seen  since  then .''  And  this 
held  good  in  Spain  so  long  as  the  Gothic  blood  predominated. 
And  also  in  Italy,  where  in  the  North  the  Germans  also  played 
a  leading  part.  When  that  element  had  exhausted  itself,  there 
was  nothing  decent  left.  It  was  much  the  same  thing  in  Rus- 
sia, where  the  Germanic  Warager,  the  Ruriks,  first  bound  them 
together.  As  soon  as  the  natives  there  prevail  over  the  Ger- 
man immigrants  and  the  Germans  of  the  Baltic  Provinces,  they 
fall  asunder  into  mere  communes."  "  It  is  true  that  the  un- 
mixed Germans  are  not  of  much  account  either.  In  the  south 
and  west  where  they  were  left  to  themselves,  there  were  only 
Knights  of  the  Empire,  Imperial  Towns,  and  Immediate  Vil- 
lages of  the  Empire,  each  for  itself,  and  all  tumbling  to  pieces. 
The  Germans  are  all  right  when  they  are  forced  to  unite  — 
excellent,  irresistible,  invincible  —  otherwise  each  one  will  act 
according  to  his  own  ideas."  "  Really,  after  all,  an  intelligent 
absolutism  is  the  best  form  of  government.  Without  a  certain 
amount  of  it  everything  falls  asunder.  One  wishes  this  thing 
and  another  that,  there  is  eternal  vacillation,  eternal  delays." 
"  But  we  have  no  longer  any  genuine  absolutists  —  that  is  to 
say,  no  kings.  They  have  disappeared.  The  variety  has  died 
out."  "A  Republic  is  perhaps  after  all  the  right  form  of  gov- 
ernment, and  it  will  doubtless  come  in  the  future ;  but  I  dislike 
our  Republicans.  Formerly  things  were  different,  when  princes 
still  appeared  in  brocaded  coats  and  covered  with  stars.  They 
are  declining  everywhere,  and  that  decline  will  be  much  greater 
in  future.  One  sees  that  in  the  younger  generation.  It  is  the 
case  with  us  also.  No  more  rocJtcr  de  broncc.  They  no  longer 
want  to  govern,  and  are  glad  when  some  one  relieves  them  of 
the   trouble.     All  they  care  for  is  to  be  praised  in  the  news- 


1S71J  AX    APOCRYl'lIAL    STORY  397 

papers,  and  to  <;ct  as  much  money  as  possible  for  their  personal 
rec|uirements.  The  only  one  who  still  conducts  his  business 
[)i()perly  is  the  old  King  of  Saxony."  "And  when  they  sit  at 
the  tabic  <f//ofc  in  the  Hotel  des  Reservoirs,  here  near  the 
I'alace  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  every  one  sees  that  they  are  ordi- 
nary human  beings  — and  how  ordinary!  —  why,  the  halo  is 
quite  lost.  And  then  one  fine  morning  three  Grand  Dukes  pay 
their  respects  to  me,  and  find  me  in  my  dressing  gown !  " 

I  ventured  to  relate  that  as  a  little  child  I  pictured  to  my- 
self the  King  of  Saxony,  w^ho  was  the  only  monarch  I  knew  of 
at  that  time,  as  resembling  the  king  in  the  pack  of  cards  — 
clad  in  ermine,  and  wearing  a  crown  with  orb  and  sceptre,  stiff, 
gorgeous,  and  imperturbable :  and  that  it  was  a  fearful  disap- 
pointment for  me  when  my  nurse  once  pointed  out  to  me  a 
gentleman  in  the  passage  between  the  palace  and  the  Catholic 
church  in  Dresden,  and  told  me  that  that  little,  crooked,  frail, 
old  man,  whose  uniform  became  him  so  badly,  was  King  Anton. 
The  Chief  said  :  —  "  Our  peasants  also  had  very  curious  concep- 
tions, and  the  following  story  was  current  amongst  them.  It 
was  to  the  effect  that  on  one  occasion,  when  a  number  of  us 
young  people  were  gathered  together  in  some  public  place,  we 
said  something  against  the  King,  who  happened  to  be  close  to 
us,  but  was  unknown  to  us.  He  suddenly  stood  up,  opened  his 
mantle  and  showed  the  star  on  his  breast.  The  others  were 
terrified,  but  it  did  not  affect  me,  and  I  pitched  him  down  the 
stairs.  I  received  ten  years'  imprisonment  for  it  and  was  not 
allowed  to  shave  myself.  As  I  wore  a  beard  at  that  time,  a  habit 
which  I  had  acquired  in  France  (1842)  w^here  it  was  then  the 
fashion,  it  was  said  that  the  executioner  came  once  every  year 
on  St.  Sylvester's  night  to  shave  it  off.  Those  who  told  this 
story  were  rich  peasants  and  otherwise  not  at  all  stupid,  and 
they  repeated  it,  not  because  they  had  anything  against  me  but 
quite  in  a  friendly  way,  and  full  of  sympathy  for  a  young  man's 
rashness.  The  pitching  down  stairs  was  rather  a  coarse  inven- 
tion, but  I  was  pleased  all  the  same  that  it  was  only  to  me  they 
gave  credit  for  not  being  intimidated  by  the  star." 

I  thereupon  asked  the  Chief  if  there  was  any  truth  in  the 
story  of  the  beer  glass  he  was  said  to  have  broken  on  some 
one's  head  in  a  Berlin  restaurant  because  he  had  insulted  the 
Queen  or  refused  to  drink  her  health.     "  It  was  quite  different," 


398  Till-:    IRUTli   ABOLT  THE   BEER   GLASS  H'EB.  i 

he  replied,  "  and  had  no  political  significance  whatever.  As  I 
was  going  home  late  one  evening  —  it  must  have  been  in  the 
year  1847 — I  ^^^  some  one  who  tried  to  pick  a  quarrel  with 
me.  As  I  pulled  him  up  on  account  of  his  language,  I  discov- 
ered that  he  was  an  old  acquaintance.  We  had  not  seen  each 
other  for  a  long  time,  and  on  his  proposing  to  me,  '  Come,  let's 

go  to '  (he  mentioned  a  name),  I  went  with  him,  although  I 

really  had  had  enough  already.  But  after  getting  our  beer  he 
fell  asleep.  Now  there  were  a  lot  of  people  sitting  near  us,  one 
of  whom  had  also  taken  more  than  he  could  carry,  and  who  was 
attracting  attention  by  his  noisy  behaviour.  I  quietly  drank  my 
beer,  and  this  man  got  angry  at  my  being  so  quiet  and  began 
to  taunt  me.  I  took  no  notice,  and  that  made  "him  only  the  more 
angry  and  his  language  grew  more  and  more  violent.  I  did  not 
want  to  have  any  quarrel,  nor  did  I  like  to  go  away,  as  people 
would  have  thought  I  was  afraid.  At  last,  however,  he  came 
over  to  my  table  and  threatened  to  throw  the  beer  in  my  face. 
That  was  too  much  for  me.  I  stood  up  and  told  him  to  go 
away,  and  as  he  made  a  motion  to  throw  the  beer  at  me,  I  gave 
him  a  blow  under  the  chin,  so  that  he  fell  backwards,  breaking 
the  chair  and  the  glass,  and  rolled  across  the  room  right  on  to 
the  wall.  The  landlady  then  came  and  I  told  her  she  need  not 
worry,  as  I  would  pay  for  the  chair  and  the  beer  glass.  I  said 
to  the  others :  '  You  are  witnesses,  gentlemen,  that  I  did  not 
seek  a  quarrel,  and  that  I  endured  it  as  long  as  possible.  But 
I  cannot  be  expected  to  allow  a  glass  of  beer  to  be  poured  on 
my  head  simply  because  I  was  quietly  drinking  my  glass.  If 
the  gentleman  has  lost  a  tooth  in  consequence  I  shall  be  sorry. 
But  I  was  obliged  to  defend  myself.  Besides,  if  anybody  wishes 
to  know  more,  here  is  my  card.'  It  turned  out  that  they  were 
quite  sensible  people  and  took  my  view  of  the  case.  They  were 
annoyed  with  their  comrade  and  acknowledged  that  I  was  in  the 
right.  I  afterwards  met  two  of  them  at  the  Brandenburg  Gate. 
I  said  :  '  I  think,  gentlemen,  you  were  present  when  I  had  that 
affair  in  the  beer  house  in  the  Jagerstrasse.  What  has  happened 
to  iny  adversary  .-•  I  should  be  sorry  if  he  had  been  hurt.'  I 
must  explain  to  you  that  he  had  to  be  carried  away  on  that  occa- 
sion. '  Oh,'  they  replied  ;  'he  is  all  right,  and  his  teeth  are 
fjuite  sound  again.  He  is  altogether  subdued,  and  extremely 
sorry  for  what  he  did.      lie  had  just  entered  the  army  to  serve 


1^7 1 J  IJISMARCK'S   DUELS  31;') 

his  year,  as  he  is  a  doctor,  and  it  would  have  been  very  unpleas- 
ant tor  him  it  i)eo])le  had  heard  of  the  affair,  and  especially  if  it 
had  come  to  the  kno\vled_i;e  of  his  superiors.'  " 

The  Chief  then  related  that  when  he  was  attending  the 
University  at  Gottingen  he  fought  twenty-eight  students'  duels 
in  three  terms,  and  was  always  lucky  enough  to  escape  with  a 
whole  skin.  Once  his  opponent's  blade  flew  off,  probably 
because  it  was  badly  screwed  in,  and  caught  him  in  the  face, 
where  it  remained  sticking.  Otherwise  he  had  never  received  a 
scar.  "  I  had  one  very  narrow  escape,  though,  at  Greifswald. 
Tliere  they  had  introduced  an  extraordinary  head-dress,  a  white 
felt,  sugar-loaf  hat,  and  I  took  it  into  my  head  that  I  must  snip 
off  the  top  of  the  sugar-loaf,  and  thus  I  exposed  myself  so  that 
his  blade  whizzed  by  close  to  ray  face.  I  bent  back,  however, 
in  good  time." 

]]\-diicsd(iy,  February  \st. —  It  was  stated  at  lunch  that 
Gambetta  had  approved  of  the  armistice,  but  expressed  surprise 
that  we  still  continued  to  attack  the  French  in  the  south-east. 
Favre,  wuth  his  unbusiness-like  habits,  had  omitted  to  telegraph 
to  him  that  operations  were  not  suspended  there.  This,  by  the 
way,  was  at  his  own  request. 

There  were  no  guests  at  lunch.  The  Minister,  speaking 
about  Favre,  said :  "  I  believe  he  came  here  to-day  merely  in 
consequence  of  our  conversation  of  yesterday,  when  I  would  not 
acknowledge  that  Garibaldi  was  a  hero.  He  was  evidently 
anxious  about  him,  because  I  would  not  include  him  in  the  ar- 
mistice. He  pointed  to  the  first  article  like  a  thorough  lawyer. 
I  said  :  '  Yes,  that  was  the  rule,  but  the  exceptions  followed, 
and  Garibaldi  comes  under  them.'  I  quite  understood  that 
a  Frenchman  should  bear  arms  against  us  —  he  defended  his 
country,  and  had  a  right  to  do  so ;  but  I  could  not  recognise 
the  right  of  this  foreign  adventurer  with  his  cosmopolitan 
Republic  and  his  band  of  revolutionaries  from  every  corner  of 
the  earth.  He  asked  me  then  what  we  should  do  with  Gari- 
baldi in  case  we  took  him  prisoner.  '  Oh,'  I  said,  '  we  will 
exhibit  him  for  money,  and  hang  a  placard  round  his  neck  bear- 
ing the  word  "  Ingratitude."  '  " 

The  Chief  then  asked  :  "  But  where  is  Scheidtmann  }  "  Some- 
body told  him.  "  He  will  have,  I  think,  to  give  me  legal  advice 
in  the  matter  "  (viz.,  the  war  contribution  of  two  hundred  millions 


400  A   BET   WITH   AN   AMERICAN  [Feb.  2 

to  be  paid  by  Paris).  "  Is  he  not  a  lawyer  ?  "  Buchcr  said  no, 
he  had  not  studied  at  all,  was  originally  a  tradesman,  &c.  The 
Chief :  "  Well,  then,  Bleichroder  must  first  go  into  action.  He 
must  go  into  Paris  immediately,  smell  and  be  smelt  at  by  his 
brethren  in  the  faith,  and  discuss  with  the  bankers  how  it  is  to  be 
done.  Surely  he  is  coming  ?  "  Keudell :  "  Yes,  in  a  few  days." 
The  Chief:  "  Please  telegraph  him  at  once,  that  we  want  him 
immediately  —  then  it  will  be  Scheidtmann's  turn.  I  suppose 
he  can  speak  French?"  No  one  could  say.  "I  am  disposed 
to  select  Henckcl  as  the  third  string.  He  is  well  acquainted 
with  Paris,  and  knows  the  financiers.  A  member  of  the  haute 
finance  once  said  to  me  :  '  On  the  Stock  Exchange  we  always 
lay  our  money  on  lucky  players,'  and  if  we  are  to  follow  that 
rule  Count  Henckel  is  our  man." 

A  propos  of  German  unity,  the  Minister  told  us  that  thirty 
years  ago,  at  Gottingen,  he  had  made  a  bet  with  an  American  as 
to  whether  Germany  would  be  united  within  twenty-five  years. 
"  The  winner  was  to  provide  twenty-five  bottles  of  champagne, 
and  the  loser  was  to  cross  the  ocean  to  drink  them.  The 
American  wagered  against  union,  and  I  in  favour.  The  inter- 
esting point  is  that,  as  far  back  as  1833,  I  must  have  had  the 
idea  which  has  now,  with  God's  help,  been  realised,  although  at 
that  time  I  was  opposed  to  all  those  who  professed  to  desire 
such  a  change." 

Finally,  the  Chief  declared  his  belief  in  the  influence  of  the 
moon  on  the  growth  of  the  hair  and  of  plants.  This  subject 
came  up  through  his  jocularly  congratulating  Abckcn  on  the 
style  in  which  his  locks  had  been  trimmed.  "You  look  twice 
as  young,  Herr  Geheimrath,"  he  said.  "If  I  were  only  your 
wife !  You  have  had  it  cut  exactly  at  the  right  time,  under  a 
crescent  moon.  It  is  just  the  same  as  with  trees.  When  they 
are  intended  to  shoot  again  they  are  felled  when  the  moon  is 
in  the  first  quarter,  but  when  they  are  to  be  rooted  up  then  it 
is  done  in  the  last  quarter,  as  in  that  case  the  stump  decays 
sooner.  There  are  people  who  will  not  believe  it,  learned  men, 
but  the  State  itself  acts  on  this  belief,  although  it  will  not  openly 
confess  to  it.  Xo  woodman  will  think  of  felling  a  birch  tree 
which  is  intended  to  throw  out  shoots  when  the  moon  is  waning." 

After  dinner  I  read  a  number  of  documents  relating  to  the 
armistice  and  the  rcvictualling  of  Paris,  including  several  letters 


iS7i_l  A   SOVKREIGN   IN    READINESS   EOR    FRANCE  4OI 

in  Favrc's  own  hand,  which  is  neat  and  legible.  One  of  the 
letters  states  that  Paris  has  only  flour  enough  to  last  up  to  the 
4th  of  February,  and  after  that  nothing  but  horse-flesh.  Moltke 
is  requested  by  the  Chief  not  to  treat  Garibaldi  on  the  same 
footing  as  the  French,  and  in  any  case  to  demand  that  he  and 
his  followers  shall  lay  down  their  arms  —  the  Minister  desires 
this  to  be  done  on  political  grounds.  Instructions  have  been 
sent  to  Alsace  that  the  elections  for  the  Assembly  at  Bordeaux, 
which  is  to  decide  as  to  the  continuance  of  the  war,  or  peace, 
and  eventually  as  to  the  conditions  on  which  the  latter  is  to  be 
concluded,  are  not  to  be  hindered,  but  rather  ignored.  The 
elections  are  to  be  conducted  by  the  Maires  and  not  by  the  Pre- 
fects in  the  districts  we  occupy. 

Thursday,  February  2nd.  —  We  were  joined  at  dinner  by 
Odo  Russell,  and  a  tall  stout  young  gentleman  in  a  dark-blue 
uniform,  who,  I  was  told,  was  Count  Bray,  a  son  of  the  Minis- 
ter, and  formerly  attached  to  the  Bavarian  Embassy  in  Berlin. 
The  Chief  said  to  Russell :  "  The  English  newspapers  and  also 
some  German  ones  have  censured  my  letter  to  Favre  and  con- 
sider it  too  sharply  worded.  He  himself,  however,  does  not 
appear  to  be  of  that  opinion.  He  said  of  his  own  accord  :  '  You 
were  right  in  reminding  me  of  my  duty.  I  ought  not  to  leave 
before  this  is  finished.'  The  Minister  praised  this  self-abnega- 
tion. He  then  repeated  that  our  Parisians  were  unpractical 
people  and  that  we  had  constantly  to  counsel  and  assist  them. 
He  added  that  they  now  wished  apparently  to  ask  for  altera- 
tions in  the  Convention  of  the  28th  of  January.  Outside  Paris 
little  disposition  was  shown  to  help  in  reprovisioning  the  city. 
The  directors  of  the  Rouen-Dieppe  railway,  for  instance,  upon 
whom  they  had  relied  for  assistance,  declared  there  was  not 
enough  rolling  stock,  as  the  locomotives  had  been  taken  to 
pieces  and  sent  to  England.  Gambetta's  attitude  v/as  still 
doubtful,  and  he  seemed  to  contemplate  a  continuation  of  the 
war.  It  was  necessary  that  France  should  soon  have  a  proper 
Government."  "  If  one  is  not  speedily  established,  I  shall  give 
them  a  sovereign.  Everything  is  already  prepared.  Amadeus 
arrived  in  Madrid  with  a  travelling  bag  in  his  hand  as  King  of 
Spain,  and  he  seems  to  get  on  all  right.  My  sovereign  will 
come  immediately  with  a  retinue.  Ministers,  cooks,  chamber- 
lains, and  an  army." 

VOL.   I.  —  2D 


402  HEROIC  ATHTUDES  [Feb.  3 

With  regard  to  Napoleon's  fortune,  very  different  opinions 
were  expressed.  Some  said  it  was  large,  others  that  it  was 
inconsiderable.  Russell  doubted  if  he  had  much.  He  thought 
the  I'^mpress  at  least  could  not  have  much,  as  she  had  only  de- 
posited ^6,000  in  the  Bank  of  England.  The  Chancellor  then 
related  that  on  the  way  to  Saint  Cloud  to-day  he  met  many 
people  removing  their  furniture  and  bedding.  Probably  they 
were  inhabitants  of  neighbouring  villages,  who  had  nevertheless 
been  unable  to  leave  Paris.  "The  women  looked  quite  friendly," 
he  said,  "  but  on  catching  sight  of  the  uniforms  the  men  began 
to  scowl  and  struck  heroic  attitudes.  That  reminds  me  that  in 
the  old  Neapolitan  army  they  had  a  word  of  command,  when 
w^e  say,  '  Prepare  to  charge,  right !  '  the  command  was  '  Faccia 
feroce  ! '  (Look  ferocious!).  A  fine  presence,  a  pompous  style 
of  speech,  and  a  theatrical  attitude  are  everything  with  the 
French.  So  long  as  it  sounds  right  and  looks  well  the  sub- 
stance is  a  matter  of  indifference.  It  reminds  me  of  a  citizen 
of  Potsdam  who  once  told  me  he  had  been  deeply  impressed  by 
a  speech  of  Radowitz's.  I  asked  him  to  show  me  the  passage 
that  had  particularly  stirred  his  feelings.  He  could  not  mention 
one.  I  then  took  the  speech  itself  and  read  it  through  to  him 
in  order  to  discover  its  beauties,  but  it  turned  out  that  there  was 
nothing  in  it  either  pathetic  or  sublime.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
was  merely  the  air  and  attitude  of  Radowitz,  who  looked  as  if 
he  were  si)eaking  of  something  most  profound  and  significant 
and  thrillingly  impressive,  —  the  thoughtful  mien,  the  contem- 
plative eye,  and  the  sonorous  and  weighty  voice.  It  was  much 
the  same  with  Waldeck,  although  he  was  not  nearly  such  a 
clever  man,  nor  so  distinguished-looking.  In  his  case  it  was 
more  the  white  beard  and  the  staunch  convictions.  The  gift  of 
eloquence  has  greatly  spoilt  Parliamentary  life.  A  great  deal 
of  time  is  consumed  as  every  one  who  thinks  he  has  anything 
in  him  wants  to  speak,  even  when  he  has  nothing  new  to  say. 
There  are  far  too  many  speeches  that  simply  float  in  the  air 
and  pass  out  through  the  windows,  and  too  few  that  go  straight  to 
the  point.  The  parties  have  already  settled  everything  before- 
hand, and  the  set  speeches  are  merely  intended  for  the  jniblic, 
to  show  what  members  can  do,  and  more  especially  for  the 
newsj^apers  that  are  expected  to  praise  them.  It  will  come  to 
this  in  the  end,  that  elociuonce  will  be  regarded  as  dangerous  to 


1S71J  TIIK   FEDERAL   COUNCIL  403 

the  public  welfare,  and  that  people  will  be  punished  for  making 
long  speeches.  We  have  one  body,"  he  continued,  "that  is  not 
in  the  least  eloquent,  and  has  nevertheless  done  more  for  the 
German  cause  than  any  other,  that  is  the  Federal  Council.  I 
remember,  indeed,  that  at  first  some  attempts  were  made  in 
that  direction.  I  cut  them  short,  however,  though  as  a  matter 
of  fact  I  had  no  right  to  do  so,  albeit  I  was  President.  I  ad- 
dressed them  much  as  follows  :  '  Gentlemen,  eloquence  and 
speeches  intended  to  affect  people's  convictions  are  of  no  use 
here,  as  every  one  brings  his  own  convictions  with  him  in  his 
pocket  —  that  is  to  say,  his  instructions.  It  is  merely  waste  of 
time.  I  think  we  had  better  restrict  ourselves  to  statements  of 
fact.'  And  so  we  did.  No  one  made  a  big  speech  after  that, 
business  was  speedily  transacted,  and  the  Federal  Council  has 
really  done  a  great  deal  of  good." 

Friday,  February  yd. — In  addition  to  a  violently  warlike 
proclamation,  Gambetta  has  issued  a  decree  declaring  a  number 
of  persons  ineligible  for  the  new  Representative  Assembly. 
"Justice  demands  that  all  those  who  have  been  accessory  to 
the  acts  of  the  Government  which  began  with  the  outrage  of 
the  2nd  of  December,  and  ended  with  the  capitulation  of  Sedan, 
should  now  be  reduced  to  the  same  political  impotence  as  the 
dynasty  whose  accomplices  and  tools  they  were.  That  is  a 
necessary  consequence  of  the  responsibility  which  they  assumed 
in  carrying  out  the  Emperor's  measures.  These  include  all  per- 
sons who  have  occupied  the  positions  of  Minister,  Senator, 
Councillor  of  State,  or  Prefect  from  the  2nd  of  December,  1851, 
to  the  4th  of  September,  1870.  Furthermore,  all  persons  who, 
in  the  elections  to  the  legislative  bodies  during  the  period  from 
the  2nd  of  December,  185 1,  to  the  4th  of  September,  1870, 
have  been  put  forward  in  any  way  as  Government  candidates, 
as  well  as  the  members  of  those  families  that  have  reigned  in 
France  since  1789,  are  ineligible  for  election." 

The  Chief  instructs  me  to  telegraph  to  London  and  Cologne 
with  respect  to  this  decree,  that  the  Government  at  Bordeaux 
has  declared  whole  classes  of  the  population  —  Ministers,  Sena- 
tors, Councillors  of  State,  and  all  who  have  formerly  been  offi- 
cial candidates  —  as  ineligible  for  election.  The  apprehension 
expressed  by  Count  Bismarck  during  the  negotiations  for  the 
Convention  of  the  28th  of  January,  that  freedom  of   suffrage 


404  GERMiVNY   PROTESTS  [Feb.  4 

could  not  be  secured,  has  thus  been  confirmed.  In  conse- 
quence of  that  apprehension  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confed- 
eration at  that  time  proposed  the  convocation  of  the  Corps 
Legislatif,  but  Favre  would  not  agree  to  it.  The  Chancellor 
has  now  protested  in  a  Note  against  the  exclusion  of  these 
classes.  Only  an  Assembly  that  has  been  freely  elected,  as 
provided  by  the  Convention,  will  be  recognised  by  Germany  as 
representing  France. 

Count  Herbert  Bismarck  arrived  this  evening  from  Germany. 

Saturday,  February  /^th. — The  Chief  has  protested  against 
Gambetta's  decree  in  a  telegram  to  Gambetta  himself  and  in  a 
note  to  Favre.  The  telegram  runs :  "  In  the  name  of  the  free- 
dom guaranteed  by  the  Armistice  Convention,  I  protest  against 
the  decree  issued  in  your  name  which  robs  numerous  classes 
of  French  citizens  of  the  right  to  be  elected  to  the  Assembly. 
The  rights  guaranteed  by  that  Convention  to  the  freely  elected 
representatives  of  the  country  cannot  be  acquired  through  elec- 
tions conducted  under  an  oppressive  and  arbitrary  rule."  The 
despatch  to  Favre,  after  giving  an  epitome  of  Gambetta's  de- 
cree, goes  on  to  say :  "  I  have  the  honour  to  ask  your  Excel- 
lency if  you  consider  this  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  stipulation 
of  the  Convention  that  the  Assembly  is  to  be  freely  elected. 
Allow  me  to  recall  to  your  Excellency's  memory  the  negotia- 
tions which  preceded  the  arrangement  of  the  28th  of  January. 
Already  at  that  time  I  expressed  the  apprehension  that  in  pres- 
ence of  the  conditions  then  prevailing  it  would  be  difficult  to 
secure  the  entire  freedom  of  the  elections,  and  to  prevent  at- 
tempts being  made  to  restrict  it.  In  consequence  of  that  appre- 
hension, the  justice  of  which  M.  Gambetta's  circular  of  to-day 
seems  to  confirm,  I  raised  the  question  whether  it  would  not  be 
better  to  convoke  the  Corps  Legislatif,  which  would  constitute 
a  legal  authority  returned  by  universal  suffrage.  Your  Excel- 
lency declined  to  adopt  that  suggestion  and  expressly  promised 
that  no  pressure  should  be  exercised  upon  the  electors,  and 
that  perfect  freedom  of  voting  should  be  secured.  I  appeal  to 
your  Excellency's  sense  of  rectitude  in  requesting  you  to  say 
whether  the  exclusion  of  whole  categories  laid  down  as  a  matter 
of  principle  in  the  decree  in  question  is  in  harmony  with  the 
freedom  of  election  guaranteed  in  the  Convention  of  the  28th 
of  January.     I  believe  I  may  confidently  express  the  hope  that 


iSjiJ  Tin:    KNdl.ISH    I'APEKS  405 

the  decree  in  question,  the  aj^plication  of  which  would  appear 
to  be  an  infraction  of  the  stijnilations  of  that  Convention,  will 
be  immediately  withdrawn  and  that  the  Government  of  National 
Defence  will  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  the  free- 
dom of  election  guaranteed  by  Article  II.  We  could  not  grant 
to  persons  elected  in  pursuance  of  the  Bordeaux  decree  the  rights 
secured  by  the  Armistice  to  the  members  of  the  Assembly." 

After  10  o'clock  I  was  called  to  the  Chief,  who  said:  "They 
complain  in  Berlin  that  the  English  papers  are  much  better 
informed  than  ours,  and  that  we  have  communicated  so  little  to 
our  journals  respecting  the  negotiations  for  the  armistice.  How 
has  that  come  about.-'"  I  replied:  "The  fact  is.  Excellency, 
that  the  English  have  more  money  and  go  everywhere  to  get 
information.  Besides,  they  stand  well  with  certain  august 
personages  who  know  everything,  and  finally  the  military  au- 
thorities are  not  always  very  reserved  with  regard  to  matters 
that  ought,  for  the  time  being,  to  be  kept  secret.  I,  of  course, 
can  only  make  public  what  it  is  proper  that  the  public  should 
know."  "Well,  then,"  he  said,  "just  write  and  explain  how  it 
is  that  the  extraordinary  state  of  affairs  here  is  to  blame,  and 
not  we." 

I  then  took  the  opportunity  of  congratulating  him  on  the 
freedom  of  the  city  of  Leipzig,  which  has  been  conferred  upon 
him  within  the  last  few  days,  and  I  added  that  it  was  a  good 
city,  the  best  in  Saxony,  and  one  for  which  I  had  always  had 
a  great  regard.  "Yes,"  he  replied.  "Now  I  am  a  Saxon,  too, 
and  a  Hamburger,  for  they  have  also  presented  me  with  the 
freedom  of  Hamburg.  One  would  hardly  have  expected  that 
from  them  in  1866." 

As  I  was  leaving  he  said:  "That  reminds  me  —  it  is  also 
one  of  the  wonders  of  our  time —  please  write  an  article  show- 
ing up  the  extraordinary  action  of  Gambetta,  who,  after  posing 
so  long  as  the  champion  of  liberty  and  denouncing  the  Govern- 
ment for  influencing  the  elections,  is  now  laying  violent  hands 
on  the  freedom  of  suffrage.  He  wants  to  disqualify  all  those 
who  differ  from  him,  i.e.,  the  whole  official  world  of  France 
with  the  exception  of  thirteen  Republicans.  It  is  certainly  very 
odd  that  I  should  have  to  defend  such  a  principle  against  Gam- 
betta and  his  associate  and  ally  Garibaldi."  I  said  :  "  I  do  not 
know  whether  it  was  intended,  but  in  your  despatch  to  Gam- 


406  BISMARCK    AS    A   CHAMPION   OF   LIBERTY  [FEB.4 

betta  the  contrast  is  very  striking  where  you  protest,  an  nom  de 
la  liberti'  dcs  t'lcctions  against  Ics  dispositions  en  voire  nom  pour 
priver  dcs  catCi^orics  nouibrcuses  dti  droit  d'etre  (flues."  "  Yes," 
he  replied,  "and  you  might  also  mention  that  Thiers,  after  his 
negotiations  with  me,  described  me  as  an  amiable  barbarian  — 
nn  barbare  aimablc.  Now  they  call  me  in  Paris  a  crafty  bar- 
barian —  un  barbare  astntieitx,  and  perhaps  to-morrow  I  shall  be 
;///  barbare  constitntionnel^ 

The  Chief  had  more  time  and  interest  for  the  newspapers 
this  morning  than  during  the  past  few  days.  I  was  called  to 
him  six  times  before  midday.  On  one  occasion  he  handed  me 
a  lying  French  pamphlet,  ''La  guerre  comme  la  font  les  Prus- 
siens,''  and  observed  :  "  Please  write  to  Berlin  that  they  should 
put  together  something  of  this  description  from  our  point  of 
view,  quoting  all  the  cruelties,  barbarities,  and  breaches  of  the 
Geneva  Convention  committed  by  the  French.  Not  too  much, 
however,  or  no  one  will  read  it,  and  it  must  be  done  speedily." 
Later  on  the  Minister  handed  me  a  small  journal  published  by 
a  certain  Armand  le  Chevalier  at  61  Rue  Richelieu,  with  a 
woodcut  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  Confederation  as  frontispiece. 
The  Chief  said  :  "  Look  at  this.  Here  is  a  man  who  refers  to 
the  attempt  by  Blind,  and  recommends  that  I  should  be  mur- 
dered, and  at  the  same  time  gives  my  portrait  —  like  the  pho- 
tographs carried  by  the  franctireurs.  You  know  that  in  the 
forests  of  the  Ardennes  the  portraits  of  our  rangers  were  found 
in  the  pockets  of  the  franctireurs  who  were  to  shoot  them. 
Luckily  it  cannot  be  said  that  this  is  a  particularly  good  like- 
ness of  me  —  and  the  biography  is  no  better."  Then  reading 
over  a  passage  and  handing  me  the  paper,  he  said  :  "This  por- 
tion should  be  made  use  of  in  the  press,  and  afterwards  be 
introduced  in  the  pamphlet." 

Finally  he  gave  me  some  more  French  newspapers,  saying : 
"  Look  through  these  and  see  if  there  is  anything  in  them  for 
me  or  for  the  King.  I  must  manage  to  get  away  or  I  shall  be 
caught  by  our  Paris  friends  again." 

Prince  Putbus  and  Count  Lehndorff  joined  us  at  dinner. 
The  Chief  related  how  he  had  called  Favre's  attention  to  the 
singular  circumstance  that  he,  Count  von  Bismarck,  who  had 
been  denounced  as  a  tyrant  and  a  despot,  had  to  protest  in 
the  name  of  liberty  against  Gambetta's   proclamation.      P^avre 


1 8; I]  AN    EXPIATION  407 

aj;ieccl,  with  a  ''Oiti,  ccst  bicn  drolcy  The  restriction  on  the 
frcedoin  of  election  decreed  by  Ganil^etta  has,  however,  now 
been  withch-awn  by  the  Paris  section  of  the  French  Govern- 
ment. "  I  le  announced  that  to  me  this  morning  in  writing, 
and  he  had  {)reviously  given  me  a  verbal  assurance." 

It  was  then  mentioned  that  several  German  newspapers 
were  dissatisfied  with  the  capitulation,  as  they  expected  our 
troops  to  march  into  Paris  at  once.  "  That  comes,"  said  the 
Chief,  "  of  a  complete  misapprehension  of  the  situation  here 
in  I'aris.  I  could  have  managed  Favre,  but  the  population  1 
They  have  strong  barricades  and  300,000  men  of  whom  cer- 
tainly 100,000  would  have  fought.  Blood  enough  has  been 
shed  in  this  war  —  enough  German  blood.  Had  we  appealed 
to  force  much  more  would  have  been  spilt  —  in  the  excited 
condition  of  the  people.  And  merely  to  inflict  one  additional 
humiliation  upon  them  —  that  would  have  been  too  dearly 
bought."  After  reflecting  for  a  moment,  he  continued  :  "And 
who  told  them  that  we  shall  not  still  enter  Paris  and  occupy  a 
portion  of  it .''  Or  at  least  march  through,  when  they  have 
cooled  down  and  come  to  reason.  The  armistice  will  probably 
be  prolonged,  and  then,  in  return  for  our  readiness  to  make 
concessions,  we  can  demand  the  occupation  of  the  city  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  river.  I  think  we  shall  be  there  in  about 
three  weeks."  "The  24th"  —  he  reflected  for  a  moment  — 
"  yes,  it  was  on  the  24th  that  the  Constitution  of  the  North 
German  Confederation  was  made  public.  It  was  also  on  the 
24th  of  February,  1859,  that  we  had  to  submit  to  certain  par- 
ticularly mean  treatment.  I  told  them  that  it  would  have  to 
be  expiated.  Exoriarc  aliquis.  I  am  only  sorry  that  the  Wiir- 
temberg  Minister  to  the  Bundestag,  old  Reinhart,  has  not  lived 
to  see  it.  Prokesch  has  though,  and  I  am  glad  of  that,  because 
he  w^as  the  worst.  According  to  a  despatch  from  Constanti- 
nople, which  I  read  this  morning,  Prokesch  is  now  quite  in 
agreement  with  us,  praises  the  energies  and  intelligence  of 
Prussia's  policy,  and  (here  the  Minister  smiled  scornfully)  has 
always,  or  at  least  for  a  long  time  past,  recommended  coopera- 
tion with  us." 

The  Chief  had  been  to  Mont  Valerien  to-day.  "  I  was 
never  there  before,"  he  said,  "  and  when  one  sees  the  strong 
works  and  the  numerous  contrivances  for  defence  —  we  should 


408  BISMARCK   AT   SAINT   CLOUD  [Feb.  4 

have  terrible  losses  in  storming  it.  One  dares  not  even  think 
of  it." 

The  Minister  said  one  of  the  objects  of  Favre's  visit  to-day 
was  to  request  that  the  masses  of  country  people  who  had  fled 
to  Paris  in  September  should  be  allowed  to  leave.  They  were 
mostly  inhabitants  of  the  environs  and  there  must  be  nearly 
300,000  of  them.  "  I  declined  permission,"  he  continued,  "  ex- 
plaining to  him  that  our  soldiers  now  occupied  their  houses.  If 
the  owners  came  out  and  saw  how  their  property  had  been 
wrecked  and  ruined  they  would  be  furious,  and  no  blame  to 
them,  and  they  would  upbraid  our  people  and  then  there  might 
be  dangerous  brawls  and  perhaps  something  still  worse."  The 
Chancellor  had  also  been  to  Saint  Cloud,  and  whilst  he  was  look- 
ing at  the  burnt  palace  and  recalling  to  mind  the  condition  of 
the  room  in  which  he  had  dined  with  Napoleon,  there  was  a 
well-dressed  Frenchman  there  —  probably  from  Paris  —  who 
was  being  shown  round  by  a  man  in  a  blouse.  "  I  could  catch 
every  word  they  said,  as  they  spoke  aloud,  and  I  have  sharp 
ears.  '  C'est  I'oeuvre  de  Bismarck,'  said  the  man  in  the  blouse, 
but  the  other  merely  replied  '  C'est  la  guerre.'  If  they  had  only 
known  that  I  was  listening  to  them  !  " 

Count  Bismarck-Bohlen  mentioned  that  the  Landwehr, 
somewhere  in  this  neighbourhood,  gave  a  refractory  French- 
man, who  tried  to  stab  an  officer  with  a  penknife,  seventy-five 
blows  with  the  fiat  of  the  sword.  "Seventy-five!"  said  the 
Chief.  "  H'm,  that,  after  all,  is  somewhat  too  much."  Some- 
body related  a  similar  instance  that  had  occurred  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Meaux.  As  Count  Herbert  was  passing  recently, 
a  miller,  who  had  abused  Count  Bismarck  and  said  he  wished 
he  had  him  between  two  millstones,  was  laid  flat  by  the  soldiers 
and  so  fearfully  beaten  that  he  was  not  able  to  stir  for  a  couple 
of  hours. 

The  election  addresses  posted  on  the  walls  by  the  candi- 
dates for  the  National  Assembly  were  then  discussed,  and  it 
was  observed  that,  in  general,  they  were  still  very  aggressive, 
and  promised  to  achieve  wonders  at  Bordeaux.  "  Yes,"  said 
the  Chief,  "  I  quite  believe  that.  Favre  also  tried  once  or 
twice  to  ride  the  high  horse.  But  it  did  not  last  long.  I  always 
brought  him  down  with  a  jesting  remark." 

S  uiie  one  referred  to  the  speech  made  by  Klaczko  on  the 


iSjil  now   I5ISMARCK   CIIEKKKD    HIMSKLF  409 

30th  of  January  in  the  Delegation  of  the  Rcichsrath  against 
Austria's  co()i)eration  with  Prussia,  and  to  Giskra's  revelation 
in  the  morning  edition  of  the  National  Zcitutig  of  the  2nd  of 
February.  Giskra  said  that  I^ismarck  wished  to  send  him  from 
Briinn  to  Vienna  with  proposals  for  peace.  These  were,  in 
effect  :  Apart  from  the  maintenance  in  Venetia  of  the  status 
quo  before  the  war,  the  Main  line  was  to  be  recognised  as  the 
limit  of  Prussian  ascendancy,  there  was  to  be  no  war  indemnity, 
but  French  mediation  was  to  be  excluded.  Giskra  sent  Baron 
Plerring  to  Vienna  with  these  proposals.  The  latter  was,  how- 
ever, coolly  received  by  Moritz  Esterhazy,  and  after  waiting  for 
si.xteen  hours  obtained  only  an  evasive  answer.  On  proceeding 
to  Nikolsburg,  Herring  found  Benedetti  already  there,  and  was 
told:  "You  come  too  late."  As  Giskra  points  out,  the  French 
mediation  accordingly  cost  Austria  a  war  indemnity  of  thirty 
millions.  It  was  observed  that  Prussia  could  have  extorted 
more  from  Austria  at  that  time,  and  also  a  cession  of  territory, 
for  instance,  Austrian  Silesia,  and  perhaps  Bohemia.  The 
Chief  replied :  "  Possibly ;  as  for  money,  what  more  could  the 
poor  devils  give  .''  Bohemia  would  have  been  something  and  there 
were  people  who  entertained  the  thought.  But  we  should  have 
created  difficulties  for  ourselves  in  that  way,  and  Austrian  Silesia 
was  not  of  much  value  to  us;  for  just  there  the  devotion  to  the 
Imperial  house  and  the  Austrian  connection  was  greater  than 
elsewhere.  In  such  cases  one  must  ask  for  what  one  really 
wants,  and  not  what  one  might  be  able  to  get." 

In  this  connection  he  related  that  on  one  occasion,  as  he 
was  walking  about  in  mufti  at  Nikolsburg,  he  met  two  police- 
men who  wished  to  arrest  a  man.  "  I  asked  what  he  had  done, 
but  of  course  as  a  civilian  I  got  no  answer.  I  then  inquired  of 
the  man  himself,  who  told  me  that  it  was  because  he  had  spoken 
disrespectfully  of  Count  Bismarck.  They  nearly  took  me  along 
with  him  because  I  said  that  doubtless  many  others  had  done 
the  same." 

"  That  reminds  me  that  I  was  once  obliged  to  join  in  a  cheer 
for  myself.  It  was  in  1866,  in  the  evening,  after  the  entry  of 
the  troops.  I  was  unwell  just  then,  and  my  wife  did  not  wish 
to  let  me  go  out.  I  went,  however — on  the  sly  —  and  as  I  was 
about  to  cross  the  street  again  near  the  palace  of  Prince  Charles, 
there  was  a  great  crowd  of  people  collected  there,  who  desired 


4IO  A    LEllER   IROM    KAVRE  [Feb.  5 

to  give  mc  an  ovation.  I  was  in  plain  clothes,  and  with  mv 
broad-brimmed  hat  pulled  down  over  my  eyes,  I  perhaps  looked 
like  a  suspicious  character  —  I  don't  know  why.  As  some  of 
them  seemed  inclined  to  be  unpleasant,  I  thought  the  best 
thing  to  do  was  to  join  in  their  hurrah." 

From  8  p.m.  on  read  drafts  and  despatches,  including  Favre's 
answer  to  the  Chief  in  the  matter  of  Gambetta's  electioneering 
manoeuvre.     It  runs  as  follows  :  — 

"  You  are  right  in  appealing  to  my  sense  of  rectitude. 
You  shall  never  find  it  fail  me  in  my  dealings  with  you.  It  is 
perfectly  true  that  your  Excellency  strongly  urged  upon  me 
as  the  sole  way  out  of  the  difficulty  to  convoke  the  former 
legislative  bodies.  I  declined  to  adopt  that  course  for  various 
reasons  which  it  is  needless  to  recall,  but  which  you  will  doubt- 
less not  have  forgotten.  In  reply  to  your  Excellency's  objec- 
tions, I  said  I  was  convinced  that  my  country  only  desired  the 
free  exercise  of  the  suffrage,  and  that  its  sole  resource  lay  in 
the  popular  sovereignty.  That  will  make  it  clear  to  you  that  I 
cannot  agree  to  the  restrictions  that  have  been  imposed  upon 
the  franchise.  I  have  not  opposed  the  system  of  ofiFicial  candi- 
datures in  order  to  revive  it  now  for  the  benefit  of  the  present 
Government.  Your  Excellency  may  therefore  rest  assured  that 
if  the  decree  mentioned  in  your  letter  to  me  has  been  issued  by 
the  Delegation  at  Bordeaux,  it  will  be  withdrawn  by  the  Gov- 
ernment ol  National  Defence.  For  this  purpose  I  only  require 
to  obtain  official  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  decree  in 
question.  This  will  be  done  by  means  of  a  telegram  to  be 
despatched  to-day.  There  are,  therefore,  no  differences  of 
opinion  between  us,  and  we  must  both  continue  to  cooperate  in 
resolutely  carrying  into  execution  the  Convention  which  we 
have  signed." 

Called  to  the  Chief  at  9  p.m.  He  wants  to  have  an  article 
written  pointing  out  that  the  entry  of  our  troops  into  Paris  is  at 
present  impracticable,  but  may  be  possible  later  on.  This  is  in 
answer  in  the  National Ziitiinglo  an  article  criticising  the  terms 
of  armistice. 

With  regard  to  an  article  in  the  Cologne  Volkszcitiing  show- 
ing that  the  Ultramontanes  have  offered  a  subsidy  to  the  leaders 
of  the  General  Association  f)f  German  Workers  on  condition 
that    they    promote    the    election    of    clerical    candidates,    the 


1S71]  AN   ARTICLK   FOR   TIIH   M ONI T EUR  411 

Minister  says  :  "  Look  here.  Please  see  that  the  newspapers 
speak  of  a  '  Savi,t;ny-]^cbel  '  whenever  an  opportunity  occurs, 
and  that  must  be  re{)eated."  And  just  as  I  am  Soi''^f?  f>ut  of  the 
room  he  calls  after  me  :  "  Or  the  '  Liebknecht-Savigny  party.'  " 
We  take  note  of  that,  and  shall  speak  from  time  to  time  of  this 
new  party. 

Saturday,  l'\-brHary  ^t/i.  — We  are  joined  at  dinner  by  Favre, 
d'Herisson,  and  the  Director  of  the  Western  Railway,  a  man 
with  a  broad,  comfortable,  smiling  face,  apparently  about  thirty- 
six  years  of  age.  Favre,  who  sits  next  to  the  Chief,  looks 
anxious,  worried,  and  depressed.  His  head  hangs  on  one  side, 
and  sometimes  for  a  change  sinks  on  to  his  breast,  his  under- 
lip  following  suit.  When  he  is  not  eating,  he  lays  his  two  hands 
on  the  tablecloth,  one  on  the  top  of  the  other,  in  submission 
to  the  decrees  of  fate,  or  he  crosses  his  arms  in  the  style  of 
Napoleon  the  First,  a  sign  that,  on  closer  consideration,  he  still 
feels  confident  in  himself.  During  dinner  the  Chief  speaks 
only  French,  and  mostly  in  a  low  voice,  and  I  am  too  tired  to 
follow  the  conversation. 

The  Chief  instructs  me  to  send  the  following  short  paragraph 
to  one  of  our  newspapers :  The  Koliiische  Zeitiing  has  made 
itself  the  organ,  it  is  true  with  some  reservations,  of  those  who 
complain  of  the  alleged  destruction  of  French  forests  by  our 
officials.  One  would  think  it  could  have  found  some  other 
occupation  than  to  scrutinise  our  administration  of  the  public 
forests  of  France.  We  act  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of 
forestry,  even  if  we  do  not  follow  the  French  system.  More- 
over, we  should  be  within  our  rights  if  we  exploited  these  re- 
sources of  the  enemy  in  the  most  ruthless  manner,  as  that 
would  render  the  French  more  disposed  to  conclude  peace. 

He  also  warmly  praised  the  active  part  taken  by  the  Duke 
of  Meiningen  in  the  conduct  of  the  war.  He  concluded  :  "  I  wish 
that  to  be  mentioned  in  the  press.  The  background  is  ready  to 
hand  in  the  princely  loafing  and  palace  looting  of  the  rest  of 
them." 

Monday,  Febv:iary  6th.  —  The  Chief  desires  to  have  an  article 
against  Gambetta  published  in  the  Moiiitcur.  I  write  the  fol- 
lowing :  — 

"The  Convention  of  the  28th  of  January,  concluded  between 
Count  von  Bismarck  and  M.  Jules  Favre,  has  revived  the  hopes 


412  GERMANY'S   INTENTIONS  [Feb.  6 

of  all  sincere  friends  of  peace.  Since  the  events  of  the  4th 
of  September  the  military  honour  of  Germany  has  received 
sufficient  satisfaction,  so  that  it  may  now  yield  to  the  desire  to 
enter  into  negotiations  with  a  Government  which  truly  represents 
the  French  nation  for  a  peace  that  will  guarantee  the  fruits  of 
victory  and  secure  our  future.  When  the  Governments  repre- 
sented at  Versailles  and  Paris  finally  succeeded  in  coming  to  an 
understanding,  of  which  the  conditions  were  prescribed  by  the 
force  of  circumstances,  and  France  was  restored  to  herself,  they 
were  justified  in  expecting  that  these  preliminaries  of  a  new  era 
in  the  relations  of  the  two  countries  would  be  generally  re- 
spected. The  decree  issued  by  M.  Gambetta  disqualifying  all 
former  functionaries  and  dignitaries,  senators,  and  official  can- 
didates from  election  to  the  National  Assembly  was  perhaps 
necessary  to  show  France  the  abyss  towards  which  it  has  been 
gravitating  since  the  dictatorship,  sacrificing  the  best  blood  of 
the  country,  refused  to  convoke  the  representatives  of  the 
nation  in  the  regular  way. 

"  The  second  article  of  the  Convention  of  the  28th  of  Janu- 
ary shows  clearly  and  plainly  that  the  freedom  of  the  elections  is 
one  of  the  conditions  of  the  Convention  itself.  In  entering  into 
such  an  arrangement  for  the  elections,  Germany  only  took  into 
consideration  the  existing  French  laws,  and  not  the  good  will 
and  pleasure  of  this  or  that  popular  Tribune.  It  would  be  just 
as  easy  to  call  together  a  Rump  Parliament  in  Bordeaux,  and 
make  it  a  tool  for  the  subjection  of  the  other  half  of  France. 
We  are  convinced  that  all  honourable  and  sincere  French 
patriots  will  protest  against  the  action  of  the  Delegation  at 
Bordeaux,  which  is  entirely  arbitrary  and  opposed  to  all  sound 
reason.  If  there  were  any  prospect  that  this  action  would  be 
allowed  to  unite  all  the  anarchical  parties  who  tolerate  the  dicta- 
torship in  so  far  as  it  represents  their  favourite  ideas,  the  most 
serious  complications  would  inevitably  ensue. 

"  Germany  does  not  intend  to  interfere  in  any  way  in  the 
domestic  affairs  of  France.  She  has,  however,  through  the 
agreement  of  the  28th  of  January,  secured  the  right  to  see  that 
a  public  authority  is  established  which  will  possess  the  attributes 
necessary  to  enable  it  to  negotiate  peace  in  the  name  of  France. 
If  Germany  is  denied  the  right  to  negotiate  for  peace  with  the 
whole  nation,  if  an  attempt  is  made  to  substitute  the  representa- 


1871 J  LORD    AUGUSTUS   LOtTUS  413 

tivcs  of  a  faction  for  the  representatives  of  the  nation,  the  armis- 
tice convention  would  thereby  become  null  and  void.  We  read- 
ily acknowledge  that  the  Government  of  National  Defence  has 
immediately  recognised  the  justice  of  the  complaints  made  by 
Count  von  IMsmarck  in  his  despatch  of  the  3rd  of  February. 
That  Government  has  addressed  itself  to  the  French  nation  in 
language  marked  by  nobility  and  elevation  of  feeling,  setting 
forth  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  and  the  efforts  made  to 
relieve  the  country  from  the  last  consequences  of  an  unfortu- 
nate campaign.  At  the  same  time,  it  has  cancelled  the  decree 
of  the  Delegation  at  l^ordeaux.  Let  us  hope,  therefore,  that 
the  action  of  M.  Gambetta  will  receive  no  support  in  the  coun- 
try, and  that  it  will  be  possible  to  conduct  the  elections  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  Convention  of 
the  28th  of  January." 

I  am  called  to  the  Minister  again  at  1 1  o'clock,  and  in- 
structed to  defend  Favre  against  the  rabid  attacks  of  some 
French  newspapers.  The  Chief  says :  "  They  actually  take 
him  to  task  for  having  dined  with  me.  I  had  much  trouble  in 
getting  him  to  do  so.  But  it  is  unfair  to  e.xpect  that,  after 
working  with  me  for  eight  or  ten  hours,  he  should  either  starve 
as  a  staunch  Republican,  or  go  out  to  a  hotel  where  the  people 
would  run  after  him  and  stare  at  him." 

The  Frenchmen  are  again  here  between  2  and  4  p.m.  They 
are  six  or  seven  in  number,  including  Favre  and,  if  I  rightly 
heard  the  name,  General  Leflo.  The  Chief's  eldest  son  and 
Count  Donhoff  join  us  at  dinner. 

Subsequently  I  despatch  a  dcmoiti  of  a  Berlin  telegram 
published  by  the  Times,  according  to  which  we  propose  to 
demand  the  surrender  of  twenty  ironclads  and  the  colony  of 
Pondicherry,  together  with  a  war  indemnity  of  ten  milliards 
of  francs.  This  I  describe  as  a  gross  invention  which  cannot 
possibly  have  been  credited  in  England,  or  have  created  any 
anxiety  there.  I  then  hint  at  the  probable  source,  namely,  the 
clumsy  imagination  of  an  unfriendly  and  intriguing  diplomatist. 
"  That  comes  from  Loftus,"  says  the  Chief,  as  he  gives  me 
these  instructions.  "  An  ill-mannered  fellow  who  was  always 
seeking  to  make  mischief  with  us." 

Tuesday,  February  JtJi.  —  From  Bucarest  despatches  it 
seems  as  if  the  reign  of  Prince  Charles  were  really  coming  to  a 


414  BISMARCK'S   OPINION   OF   COLONIES  [Fkh.  9,  1871 

speedy  end.  With  the  retention  of  Dahvigk  at  Darmstadt,  the 
old  confederacy  of  opponents  of  German  unity  remains  firmly 
entrenched,  and  the  well-known  intrigues  continue  unhindered. 
A  telegram  from  Bordeaux  brings  the  expected  news.  Gam- 
betta  yesterday  announced  in  a  circular  to  the  Prefects  that  his 
Parisian  colleagues  having  annulled  his  decree  with  regard  to 
the  elections,  he  has  informed  them  of  his  resignation.  A  good 
sign.  He  can  hardly  have  a  strong  party  behind  him  or  he 
would  scarcely  have  resigned. 

IVidnesdaj,  February  St/i.  — The  Chief  is  up  at  an  unusually 
early  hour,  and  drives  off  at  9.45  to  see  the  King.  Favre 
arrives  shortly  before  i  o'clock,  accompanied  by  a  swarm  of 
P'renchmen.  There  must  be  ten  or  twelve  of  them.  He  con- 
fers with  the  Minister  after  first  lunching  with  us. 

In  the  evening  the  Chief  and  his  son  dined  with  the  Crown 
Prince,  but  first  remained  for  a  while  with  us.  He  again 
observed  with  satisfaction  that  Favre  had  not  taken  offence  at 
his  "  spiteful  letter,"  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  thanked  him  for 
it.  The  Chief  had  repeated  to  him  verbally  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  share  the  dish  which  he  had  helped  to  cook.  To-day  they 
had  discussed  the  way  of  raising  the  Paris  war  contribution ; 
the  French  wanted  to  pay  the  greater  part  of  it  in  bank  notes, 
and  we  might  lose  in  that  way.  "  I  do  not  know  the  value  of 
what  they  offer,"  he  said  ;  "  but  in  any  case  it  is  to  their  advan- 
tage. They  must,  however,  pay  the  whole  amount  agreed  upon. 
I  will  not  remit  a  single  franc." 

T/iarst/aj',  February  ()tli.  —  Speaking  again  of  the  Paris  con- 
tribution, the  Chancellor  observed  at  dinner :  "  Stosch  tells  me 
he  can  dispose  of  fifty  million  francs  in  bank  notes  to  pay  for 
provisions,  &c.,  in  P'^rance.  We  must  have  proper  security, 
however,  for  the  remaining  hundred  and  fifty  millions."  Then 
alluding  to  the  foolish  story  about  our  wanting  Pondicherry,  he 
continued  :  "  I  do  not  want  any  colonies  at  all.  Their  only  use 
is  to  provide  sinecures.  Tiiat  is  all  England  at  present  gets 
out  of  her  colonies,  and  Spain  too.  And  as  for  us  Germans, 
colonies  would  be  exactly  like  the  silks  and  sables  of  the  Polish 
nobleman  who  had  no  shirt  to  wear  under  them." 


CHAPTER   XIX 

FROM    GAMBETTA's    RESIGNATION     TO     THE     CONCLUSION     OF     THE 
PRELIMINARIES    OF    PEACE 

Friday,  February  lotk.  —  Fresh  complaints  respecting  the 
intrigues  of  Dalwigk,  and  especially  the  measures  for  depriving 
the  national  constituencies  in  Hesse  of  their  representatives  and 
securing  the  victory  of  the  Ultramontane  and  Democratic  coali- 
tion. The  Chief  desires  me  to  see  that  an  "  immediate  and 
energetic  campaign  in  the  press  "  is  organised  against  these  and 
other  mischievous  proceedings  inspired  by  Beust's  friends.  He 
also  wishes  the  Mo}iitcur  to  reprint  the  long  list  of  French 
officers  who  have  broken  their  parole  and  escaped  from  Ger- 
many. 

We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  the  Duke  of  Ratibor  and  a 
Herr  von  Kotze,  the  husband  of  the  Chief's  niece.  Stroussberg, 
a  business  friend  of  the  Duke's,  was  mentioned,  and  the  Chief 
observed  that  nearly  all,  or  at  least  very  many  of  the  members 
of  the  Provisional  Government  were  Jews  :  Simon,  Cremieux, 
Magnin,  also  Picard,  whose  Semitic  origin  he  would  hardly 
have  suspected,  and  *'  very  probably  Gambetta  also,  from  his 
features."  "  For  the  same  reason,  I  suspect  even  Favre,"  he 
added. 

Saturday,  February  nth.  —  In  the  morning  I  read  the  news- 
papers, and  particularly  certain  debates  in  the  English  Parlia- 
ment at  the  end  of  last  month.  It  really  looks  as  if  our  good 
friends  across  the  Channel  had  a  suspicious  leaning  towards 
France,  and  as  if  they  were  not  at  all  disinclined  to  interfere 
once  more  —  indeed,  in  certain  circumstances,  an  Anglo-French 
alliance  would  appear  quite  possible.  It  is  a  question,  however, 
whether  they  might  not  fall  between  two  stools.  A  very  differ- 
ent result  might  well  ensue.  From  what  one  hears  and  reads 
in  the  newspapers,  the  feeling  in  this  country  is  almost  as  hos- 
tile to  the  English  as  to  ourselves,  and  in  certain  circles  more  so. 

415 


4l6  ENGLAND   AND   FRANCE  [Kkb.  22 

It  may  well  happen  that  if  England  adopts  a  threatening  atti- 
tude towards  us,  we  may  surprise  our  cousins  in  London  with 
the  very  reverse  of  a  Franco-English  alliance  against  Germany. 
We  may  even  be  obliged  to  seriously  consider  the  forcible  res- 
toration of  Napoleon,  which  we  have  not  hitherto  contemplated. 
According  to  a  telegram  of  the  2nd  inst.,  Bernstorff  is  to  see 
that  these  ideas  are  cautiously  ventilated  in  the  press. 

Count  Henckel  and  Bleichroder  dined  with  us.  It  seems 
that  in  the  negotiations  with  the  French  financiers,  Scheidt- 
mann  described  them  to  their  faces  in  language  more  vigorous 
than  flattering,  talking  of  them  as  pigs,  dogs,  rabble,  &c.,  in 
ignorance  of  the  fact  that  some  of  them  understood  German. 
The  Chief  then  spoke  of  the  insolence  of  the  Parisian  press, 
which  behaved  as  if  the  city  were  not  in  our  power:  "If  that 
goes  on  we  must  tell  them  that  we  will  no  longer  stand  it.  It 
must  cease,  or  we  shall  answer  their  articles  by  a  few  shells 
from  the  forts."  Henckel  having  alluded  to  the  unsatisfactory 
state  of  public  opinion  in  Alsace,  the  Chief  said  that,  properly 
speaking,  no  elections  ought  to  have  been  allowed  there  at  all, 
and  he  had  not  intended  to  allow  them.  But  inadvertently  the 
same  instructions  were  sent  to  the  German  officials  there  as  else- 
where. The  melancholy  situation  of  the  Prince  of  Rumania 
was  then  referred  to,  and  from  the  Rumanian  Radicals  the 
conversation  turned  to  Rumanian  stocks.  Bleichroder  said 
that  financiers  always  speculated  on  the  ignorance  of  the 
masses,  and  upon  their  blind  cupidity.  This  was  confirmed 
by  Henckel,  who  said:  "I  had  a  quantity  of  Rumanian  secu- 
rities, but  after  I  had  made  about  8  per  cent.  I  got  rid  of  them, 
as  I  knew  they  could  not  yield  15  per  cent.,  and  that  alone  could 
have  saved  them."  The  Chief  then  related  that  the  French  were 
committing  all  sorts  of  frauds  in  the  revictualling  of  Paris.  It 
was  not  out  of  pride  that  they  refused  our  contributions,  but 
merely  because  they  could  make  no  profit  out  of  them.  P^vcn 
members  of  the  Government  were  involved,  and  Magnin  was 
understood  to  have  recently  made  700,000  francs  on  the  pur- 
chase of  sheep.  "  We  must  let  them  see  that  we  know  that," 
said  the  Chief,  glancing  at  me;  "it  will  be  useful  in  the  peace 
negotiations."     This  was  done  without  delay. 

After  dinner  I  wrote  some  paragraphs  on  the  instructions 
of  the  Chief.     The   first  was  to  the  effect  that  we   ought    no 


Till-:    HURDKAUX    ASSEMBLY 


417 


lon<::^er  to  tolerate  the  insolence  of  the  Parisian  journalists. 
However  generous  and  patient  we  might  be,  it  was  past  endur- 
ance that  the  French  jm'css  should  venture  to  deride  and  insult 
to  his  face  the  victor  who  stood  before  the  walls  of  the  capital 
which  he  had  absolutely  in  his  power.  Moreover,  such  men- 
dacity and  violence  would  prove  an  obstacle  to  the  conclusion 
of  peace,  by  producing  bitterness  on  both  sides  and  delaying 
the  advent  of  a  calmer  spirit.  This  could  not  be  foreseen  when 
the  armistice  Convention  was  concluded,  and  in  discussing  any 
})rolongation  of  the  truce,  effective  means  would  have  to  be 
found  for  preventing  further  provocation  of  the  kind.  Un- 
doubtedly the  best  way  would  be  the  occupation  of  the  city 
itself  by  our  troops.  We  should  thus  relieve  the  French  Gov- 
ernment of  a  source  of  grave  anxiety,  and  avert  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  inflammatory  articles  in  the  press,  which  they  are 
perhaps  not  in  the  position  to  repress. 

Sunday,  February  \2th.  —  It  is  announced  in  a  telegram  from 
Cassel  that  Napoleon  has  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  French. 
The  Minister  handed  it  to  me,  saying :  "  Please  have  this  pub- 
lished in  our  local  paper.  It  is  in  order  to  lead  them  astray,  so 
that  they  may  not  know  where  they  stand.  But  for  God's  sake 
don't  date  it  from  Wilhelmshohe,  or  they  will  think  that  we  are 
in  communication  with  him.  '  Lc  bureau  Wolff  telegraphic y 
The  Chief  seems  to  be  unwell.      He  does  not  come  to  dinner. 

Wednesday,  February  i^th.  —  I  again  draw  attention  in  the 
Moniteur  to  the  disgraceful  tone  of  the  Parisian  press.  I  inti- 
mate that  this  agitation  is  delaying  the  conclusion  of  peace,  and 
that  the  most  certain  way  of  putting  an  end  to  it  would  be  the 
occupation  of  Paris. 

Wednesday,  February  22nd.  —  During  the  last  week  I  have 
written  a  number  of  articles  and  paragraphs,  and  despatched 
about  a  dozen  telegrams. 

The  Assembly  at  Bordeaux  shows  a  proper  appreciation  of 
the  position.  It  has  declined  to  support  Gambetta,  and  has 
elected  Thiers  as  chief  of  the  Executive  and  spokesman  on 
behalf  of  France  in  the  negotiations  for  peace  which  began 
here  yesterday.  At  dinner  yesterday,  at  which  we  w^ere  joined 
by  Henckel,  the  Chief  remarked,  with  reference  to  these  nego- 
tiations, "  If  they  were  to  give  us  another  milHard  we  might 
perhaps  leave  them  Metz,  and  build    a    fortress    a  few    miles 

VOL.  I.  2  E 


4lS  15ISMAK*R    lAl.KS   GERMAN    WITH   THIERS  [IT.:;.  22 

further  back,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Falkcnberg  or  towards 
Saarbriicken  —  there  must  be  some  suitable  position  there.  I 
do  not  want  so  many  Frenchmen  in  our  house.  It  is  the  same 
with  l^elfort,  which  is  entirely  French.  But  the  soldiers  will 
not  hear  of  giving  up  Metz,  and  perhaps  they  are  right. 

Generals  von  Kameke  and  von  Treskow  dined  with  us 
to-day.  The  Chief  spoke  about  his  second  meeting  with  Thiers 
to-day :  "  On  my  making  that  demand  "  (what  the  demand  was 
escaped  me),  "  he  jumped  up,  although  he  is  otherwise  quite 
capable  of  controlling  himself,  and  said  '  Mais  c'est  une  in- 
dignite !  '  I  did  not  allow  that  to  put  me  out,  however,  but 
began  to  speak  to  him  in  German.  He  listened  for  a  while,  and 
evidently  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  He  then  said  in  a 
querulous  voice,  '  Mais,  Monsieur  le  Comte,  vous  savez  bien  que 
je  ne  sais  point  I'allemand.'  I  replied,  speaking  in  French 
again,  '  When  you  spoke  just  now  of  indignity  I  found  that  I 
did  not  know  enough  French,  and  so  preferred  to  use  German, 
in  which  I  understand  what  I  say  and  hear.'  He  immediately 
caught  my  meaning,  and  wrote  down  as  a  concession  the 
demand  which  he  had  previously  resented  as  an  indigjiitc.'' 

The  Chief  continued :  "  Yesterday  he  spoke  of  Europe, 
which  would  intervene  if  we  did  not  moderate  our  demands. 
But  I  rcj)lied,  '  If  you  speak  to  me  of  Europe  I  shall  speak  to 
you  of  Napoleon.'  He  would  not  believe  that  they  had  any- 
thing to  fear  from  him.  I  proved  the  contrary  to  him,  however. 
He  should  remember  the  plebiscite  and  the  peasantry,  together 
with  the  officers  and  soldiers.  It  was  only  under  the  Emperor 
that  the  Guards  could  again  have  the  position  which  they 
formerly  occupied;  and  with  a  little  cleverness  it  could  not  be 
difficult  for  Napoleon  to  win  over  100,000  soldiers  among  the 
prisoners  in  Germany.  We  should  then  only  have  to  arm  them 
and  let  them  cross  the  frontier,  and  France  would  be  his  once 
more.  If  they  would  concede  good  conditions  of  peace  we 
might  even  put  up  with  one  of  the  Orleans,  though  we  knew 
that  that  would  mean  another  w^ar  within  two  or  three  years. 
If  not,  we  should  have  to  interfere,  which  we  had  avoided  doing 
up  to  the  present,  and  they  would  have  to  take  Napoleon  back 
again.  That,  after  all,  must  have  i)roduced  a  certain  effect 
upon  him,  as,  to-day,  just  as  he  was  going  to  talk  about  luirope 
again,  he  suddenly  broke  off  luul  said,  '  ICxcuse  me.'      I'"or  the 


1S71J  THE  WAi;  im)i;m\ity  419 

rest,  I  like  him  very  well.  He  is  at  least  highly  intelligent,  has 
good  manners,  and  is  an  exeellent  story-teller.  Besides,  I  often 
l)ity  him,  tor  he  is  in  an  e.\tremely  awkward  position.  But  all 
that  ean't  help  him  in  the  least." 

With  regard  to  the  war  indemnity,  the  Chief  said :  "  Thiers 
insisted  that  fifteen  hundred  million  francs  was  the  maximum, 
as  it  was  incredible  how  much  the  war  had  cost  them.  And  in 
addition  to  that  everything  supplied  to  them  was  of  bad  quality. 
If  a  soldier  only  slipped  and  fell  down,  his  trousers  went  to 
pieces,  the  cloth  was  so  wretched.  It  was  the  same  with  the 
shoes,  which  had  pasteboard  soles,  and  also  with  the  rifles, 
particularly  those  from  America."  I  replied  :  "  But  just  im- 
agine, you  are  suddenly  pounced  upon  by  a  man  who  wants  to 
thrash  you,  and  after  defending  yourself  and  getting  the  better 
of  him,  you  demand  compensation  —  what  would  you  say  if  he 
asked  you  to  bear  in  mind  how  much  he  had  had  to  pay  for  the 
stick  with  which  he  had  intended  to  beat  you,  and  how  worth- 
less the  stick  had  proved  to  be .-"  However,  there  is  a  very  wide 
margin  between  fifteen  hundred  and  six  thousand  millions." 

The  conversation  then  lost  itself — I  can  no  longer  remem- 
ber how  —  in  the  depths  of  the  Polish  forests  and  marshes, 
turning  for  a  while  on  the  large  solitary  farmhouses  in  those 
districts  and  upon  colonisation  in  the  "backwoods  of  the  east." 
The  Chief  said :  "  Formerly  when  so  many  things  were  going 
wrong  —  even  in  private  affairs  —  I  often  thought  that  if  the 
worst  came  to  the  worst  I  w^ould  take  my  last  thousand  thalers 
and  buy  one  of  those  farms  out  there  and  set  up  as  a  farmer. 
But  things  turned  out  differently." 

Later  on,  diplomatic  reports  were  again  discussed,  and  the 
Chief,  who  seems  in  general  to  have  a  poor  opinion  of  them, 
said:  "For  the  most  part,  they  are  just  paper  smeared  with 
ink.  The  worst  of  it  is  that  they  are  so  lengthy.  In  Bern- 
storff's  case,  for  instance,  when  he  sends  a  ream  of  paper  filled 
with  stale  newspaper  extracts  —  why,  one  gets  accustomed  to 
it !  But  when  some  one  else  writes  at  interminable  length,  and 
as  a  rule  there  is  nothing  in  it,  one  becomes  exasperated.  As 
for  using  them  some  day  as  material  for  history,  nothing  of  any 
value  will  be  found  in  them.  I  believe  the  archives  are  open 
to  the  public  at  the  end  of  thirty  years  —  but  it  might  be  done 
much  sooner.     Even  the  despatches  which  do  contain  informa- 


420  THE    RUSSIAN   COUNT  [Feb.  25 

tion  arc  scarcely  intelligible  to  those  who  do  not  know  the 
people  and  their  relations  to  each  other.  In  thirty  years'  time 
who  will  know  what  sort  of  a  man  the  writer  himself  was,  how 
he  looked  at  things,  and  how  his  individuality  affected  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  presented  them .-'  And  who  has  really  an  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  the  people  mentioned  in  his  reports .-'  One 
must  know  what  Gortchakoff,  or  Gladstone,  or  Granville  had 
in  his  own  mind  when  making  the  statements  reported  in  the 
despatch.  It  is  easier  to  find  out  something  from  the  news- 
papers, of  which  indeed  governments  also  make  use,  and  in 
which  they  frequently  say  much  more  clearly  what  they  want. 
But  that  also  requires  a  knowledge  of  the  circumstances.  The 
most  important  points,  however,  are  always  dealt  with  in  private 
letters  and  confidential  communications,  also  verbal  ones,  and 
these  are  not  included  in  the  archives. 

"The  Emperor  of  Russia,  for  instance,  is  on  the  whole  very 
friendly  to  us  —  from  tradition,  for  family  reasons,  and  so  on 
—  and  also  the  Grand  Duchesse  Helene,  who  influences  him 
and  watches  him  on  our  behalf.  The  Empress,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  not  our  friend.  But  that  is  only  to  be  ascertained 
through  confidential  channels  and  not  officially." 

Tfmrsday,  February  2^rd.  — We  retain  Metz,  but  not  Belfort. 
It  has  been  practically  decided  that  a  portion  of  our  army  shall 
enter  Paris. 

And  I  write  the  following  intimation  for  the  Monitcur :  — 

"  The  arrogance  with  which  the  Parisian  press  insults  and 
abuses  the  victorious  German  army  that  stands  outside  the  gates 
of  the  capital  has  been  frequently  stigmatised  by  us  as  it  de- 
serves. We  have  likewise  pointed  out  that  the  occupation  of 
Paris  by  our  trooi)s  would  be  the  most  effectual  means  of  put- 
ting an  end  to  this  sort  of  insolence.  At  the  present  moment 
these  lies  and  calumnies  and  provocations  know  no  bounds. 
P'or  instance,  the  I'ii^aro  of  the  21st  of  February,  in  a  feuilleton 
entitled  '  Les  Prussiens  en  France,'  and  signed  Alfred  d'Aunay, 
charges  German  officers  and  the  Germans  in  general  with  the 
most  disgraceful  conduct,  such  as  theft  and  pillage.  We  learn 
that  these  jirocecdings,  which  we  forbear  to  characterise,  have 
entirely  frustrated  the  efforts  made  by  the  Parisian  negf)tiators 
to  jirevent  the  German  army  entering  into  Paris.  We  are 
positively  assured  that  the  entry  of  the  German  forces  into  the 


17' I  STUPID   BRUrAMTY  421 

l"'rciich  capital  will  take  jjlacc  immediately  after  the  expiration 
of  the  armistice." 

Friday.  lu-brua)y  24///. — Thiers  and  Favre  were  here  from 
I  to  5.30  P.M.  After  they  left,  the  Due  de  Mouchy  and  the 
Comte  de  Gobineau  were  announced.  The  object  of  their  visit 
was  to  complain  of  the  oppressive  action  of  the  German  Prefect 
at  Beauvais,  who  is  apparently  rather  harsh,  or  at  least  not  very 
conciliatory  or  indulgent.  The  Chief  came  to  dinner  in  plain 
clothes  for  the  first  time  during  the  war.  Is  this  a  sign  that 
peace  has  been  concluded  ?  He  again  complained  that  when 
he  went  to  see  the  King,  the  Grand  Dukes,  "  with  their  femi- 
nine curiosity,  pestered  him  with  questions."  With  regard  to 
the  deputation  from  Beauvais,  Hatzfeld  said  that  Mouchy  and 
Gobineau  were  both  sensible  men  and  Conservatives,  and  that 
our  Prefect,  Schwarzkoppen,  bullied  them  and  the  other  nota- 
bles of  the  town  and  neighbourhood  in  an  unpardonable  way. 
Amongst  other  things,  two  days  before  the  expiration  of  the 
term  on  which  a  contribution  of  two  millions  was  to  be  paid  they 
brought  him  a  million  and  a  half  and  said  that  the  balance  would 
follow  shortly,  whereupon  he  told  them  brutally  that  he  was 
there  for  the  purpose  of  ruining  them  and  meant  to  do  so,  and 
he  threatened  to  have  them  locked  up  in  order  to  "  coerce  " 
them,  which  was  not  in  the  least  necessary.  The  Chief  was 
very  angry  and  called  Schwarzkoppen  a  "blockhead." 

Saturday,  February  2^th.  —  Unpleasant  news  has  again  been 
received  from  Bavaria.  Werthern  (who,  it  is  true,  is  described 
by  Bucher  as  unreliable  and  a  visionary)  writes  that  Count 
Holnstein  regards  the  condition  of  King  Lewis  with  very  great 
anxiety.  Prince  Adalbert,  who  combines  "  the  Wittelsbach 
haughtiness  with  Jesuitry,"  is  inciting  him  against  us.  He  as- 
serts that  he  signed  the  treaties  under  pressure.  Before  every 
Court  dinner  and  even  before  every  audience  he  drinks  large 
quantities  of  the  strongest  wines,  and  then  says  the  most  ex- 
traordinary things  to  every  one  without  distinction  of  persons. 
He  wants  to  abdicate  and  leave  the  crown  to  his  brother  Otto, 
who,  however,  has  no  wish  for  it,  and  he  is  always  inquiring 
about  deadly  poisons,  etc.  The  Ultramontanes  are  aware  of  all 
this,  and  their  candidate  for  the  Reichstag,  Prince  Luitpold,  is 
also  their  candidate  for  the  throne,  and  they  mean  to  get  him 
chosen  in  spite  of  Prince  Otto's  claims. 


422  I'Rl.NCELY   OBTRUSIVENESS  [March  6 

Wednesday,  March  \st.  —  In  the  morning  I  crossed  the 
bridge  of  boats  at  Suresnes  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  where, 
from  the  half-ruined  stand  on  the  race  course,  I  saw  the  Em- 
peror review  the  troops  before  they  marched  into  Paris. 

We  were  joined  at  dinner  by  Mittnacht,  and  the  Wurtem- 
berg  Minister,  von  Wachter,  who  was  formerly  attached  to  the 
Embassy  in  Paris  and  while  there  did  his  utmost  against  Prus- 
sia. The  Chief  said  he  had  ridden  into  Paris,  and  was  recog- 
nised by  the  populace,  but  there  was  no  demonstration  against 
him.  He  rode  up  to  one  man  who  looked  particularly  vicious, 
and  asked  him  for  a  light,  which  he  willingly  gave. 

The  Chancellor  afterwards  took  occasion  once  more  to  speak 
his  mind  out  on  the  obtrusiveness  of  certain  princely  person- 
ages. "They  are  like  flies,"  he  said,  "there  is  no  getting  rid 
of  them.  But  Weimar  is  the  worst  of  the  lot.  He  said  to  me 
to-day,  '  Please  tell  me  where  did  you  disappear  to  so  quickly 
yesterday  .-*  I  should  have  been  glad  to  put  some  further  ques- 
tions to  you.'  I  replied,  'That  was  exactly  it,  your  Royal  High- 
ness. I  had  business  to  do,  and  could  not  enter  into  a  lengthy 
conversation.'  He  fancies  that  the  whole  world  has  been 
created  merely  for  his  sake,  for  his  amusement,  the  improve- 
ment of  his  education,  and  the  satisfaction  of  his  curiosity, 
which  is  insatiable,  and  he  has  absolutely  no  tact."  Somebody 
observed  that  as  a  rule  when  he  talks  he  does  not  think  of  what 
he  says,  but  rather  repeats  phrases  that  he  has  learnt  by 
rote.  Mittnacht  told  another  story  about  this  august  personage. 
"  Some  one  was  introduced  to  him  :  '  Ah,  very  pleased  indeed, 
I  have  heard  so  much  to  your  credit.  Let  me  see,  what  was  it 
I  heard  .' '  " 

Thursday,  March  2nd.  —  Favre  arrived  this  morning  at  7.30 
A.M.,  and  wished  to  be  shown  in  to  the  Chief.  Wollmann  de- 
clined to  wake  him,  however,  at  which  the  Parisian  Excellency 
was  very  indignant.  Favrc  wanted  to  inform  the  Chancellor  of 
the  news  he  had  received  during  the  night  that  the  National 
Assembly  at  Bordeaux  had  ratified  the  preliminaries  of  peace, 
and  thereupon  to  ask  that  Paris  and  the  forts  on  the  left-  bank 
of  the  Seine  should  be  evacuated.  This  request  was  submitted 
in  a  letter  which  he  left  behind  him. 

Sunday,  March  ^tli. — We  leave  to-morrow,  first  going  to 
Lagny  and  thence  to  Mctz.     The  Chief  is  present  at  dinner. 


1 87 1]  THE  JOURNIA'    HOME  423 

The  conversation  first  turned  upon  our  landlady,  Madame  Jesse, 
who  put  in  an  appearance  either  to-day  or  yesterday  and  made 
a  variety  of  com})laints  to  the  Minister  as  to  the  damage  we  are 
supposed  to  have  done  to  her  property.  He  replied  that  was 
the  way  in  war,  particularly  when  people  deserted  their  homes. 
Besides,  she  had  reason  to  be  thankful  that  she  had  got  off 
so  easily.  The  little  table  on  which  the  Treaty  of  Peace  was 
signed  is  to  be  taken  with  us  to  Germany.  Taglioni,  who  is  to 
remain  behind  a  few  days  with  the  King,  is  instructed  to  have 
it  replaced  by  an  exactly  similar  piece  of  furniture.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  preparations  for  our  departure  the  Chief  says : 
"  Kiihnel  thinks  we  ought  not  to  travel  by  night,  as  Lorraine 
will  be  haunted,  and  they  might  lay  something  on  the  rails." 

I  replied,  "Then  I  will  travel  incognito  as  the  Duke  of  Coburg. 
Nobody  owes  him  a  grudge.  He  is  regarded  as  perfectly 
innocent  —  and  with  justice." 

Mofiday,  March  6ik.  —  A  lovely  morning.  Thrushes  and 
finches  warble  the  signal  for  our  departure.  At  i  o'clock  the 
carriages  get  under  way,  and  with  light  hearts  we  drive  off 
towards  the  gate  that  we  entered  five  months  ago,  and  passed 
Villa  Coublay,  Villeneuve  Saint  Georges,  Charenton,  and  La 
Fasanerie  to  Lagny,  where  we  take  up  our  quarters  for  the 
night. 

We  leave  here  next  day  by  a  special  train  for  Mctz,  where 
we  arrive  late  at  night.  We  put  up  at  a  hotel,  while  the  Chief 
stays  with  Count  Henckel  at  the  Prefecture.  Next  morning 
we  stroll  through  the  town,  visit  the  cathedral,  and  survey  the 
neighbourhood  from  the  bastions  of  the  fortress.     Shortly  before 

I I  o'clock  we  are  again  in  the  train,  and  travel  by  Saarbriicken 
and  Kreuznach  to  Mayence,  and  thence  to  Frankfort. 

The  Chief  has  an  enthusiastic  reception  everywhere  along 
the  line  and  particularly  at  Saarbriicken  and  Mayence.  Frank- 
fort is  the  only  exception.  We  arrive  there  at  a  late  hour,  and 
start  again  in  the  night.  At  7.30  on  the  following  morning  we 
reach  Berlin,  after  exactly  seven  months'  absence.  All  things 
considered,  everything  has  been  done  during  those  seven  months 
which  it  was  possible  to  do. 


CHAPTER    XX 

NO.    y6    WILHELMSTRASSE THE    CHANCELLOR'S    RESIDENCE    AND 

THE     FOREIGN     OFFICE  —  THE     CHIEF'S     OFFICIAL      SURROUND- 
INGS   AND    HIS    LIFE    AT    HOME  —  BUCHER    AND    ABEKEN 

Before  resuming  the  extracts  from  my  diary  I  beg  to  be 
allowed  to  present  the  reader  with  a  picture  of  the  house  in 
which  the  Chancellor  resided  during  his  stay  in  Berlin  at  the 
time  when  I  had  the  honour  of  working  under  his  instructions, 
and  to  add  a  few  words  upon  the  life  of  which  that  house  was 
the  centre. 

I  purpose  to  do  this  in  some  detail,  not  omitting  even 
matters  of  secondary  interest,  and  regardless  of  the  question 
whether  it  may  be  to  the  taste  of  certain  critics,  as  I  hope  the 
public  will  come  to  a  very  different  conclusion,  and  will  wel- 
come my  description. 

In  spite  of  the  Radical  newspapers  of  Berlin,  and  of  the  old 
women  who  write  in  the  National  Zcitung,  and  of  the  parlia- 
mentarian spirit  which  hovers  over  the  turbid  waters  of  the 
Press,  No.  "jG  Wilhelmstrasse  is,  in  the  highest  sense  of  the 
word,  a  house  of  historic  interest.  Under  its  roof  and  in  its 
rooms,  German  history  has  been  made,  and  —  (as  the  new-born 
Germany,  now  raised  to  the  position  which  is  her  due,  may  be 
regarded,  without  boastfulncss,  as  one  of  the  leading  European 
Powers)  —  also  a  great,  and  perhaps  the  best  part  of  the  politi- 
cal history  of  the  Continent.  It  has  been  the  scene  of  great 
thoughts  and  deeds ;  and  to  give  as  precise  an  account  of  such 
a  place  as  discretion  will  permit,  enabling  the  reader  to  form  a 
distinct  picture  of  it  in  his  mind's  eye,  api:)ears  to  me  to  be 
a  praiseworthy  undertaking,  j^articularly  when,  as  in  the  pres- 
ent instance,  the  house  in  question  has  already  undergone 
important  changes,  and  will   in  time  altogether  disappear. 

What  was  the  dwelling  of  the  i)olitical  regenerator  of  our 
people  .''  how  did  he  live  at  the  time  when  he  began  his  work  and 

4  "4 


THE   SCKNF,   OK   C.RKAT  THOUGHTS   AND    DKKDS  425 

carried  the  most  important  part  of  it  into  execution?  and  what 
were  the  instruments  which  he  employed  ?  Our  great-grand- 
chil(h-en  and  their  grandchildren  will  ask  these  questions,  and 
so  will  the  following  generations,  as  we  now  do  respecting  the 
heroes  of  the  two  preceding  periods  of  regeneration  in  the  life 
of  the  German  people,  respecting  Luther,  who  liberated  and 
rejuvenated  our  spiritual  life,  and  resi:)ecting  Goethe  and 
Schiller,  the  two  central  suns  of  the  days  when,  in  the  literary 
sphere,  clear  morning  rose  upon  a  world  of  night  and  twilight. 
The  cell  in  which  l^rother  Martin,  the  Augustinian  monk  of 
Wittenberg,  in  October,  15 17,  drew  up  the  ninety-five  Propo- 
sitions with  which  he  delivered  the  first  powerful  blow  against 
the  Papacy ;  the  house  and  room  where  Faust  and  Gretchen 
and  Wilhelm  Meister's  apprenticeship  were  completed,  and 
that  in  which  the  powerful  tragedy  of  the  "  Friedlaender " 
sprang  from  the  poet's  imagination,  have  been  maintained  b)- 
pious  hands  in  the  condition  in  which  they  were  when  occupied 
by  those  great  spirits.  That  is  also  the  case  with  Sans  Souci, 
the  chateau  of  the  great  Frederick.  No.  'j6  Wilhelmstrasse 
does  not  stand  under  such  favourable  auspices.  During  the 
lifetime  of  the  former  occupant  of  this  house,  and  immediately 
after  his  removal  into  the  neighbouring  palace  which  had  been 
built  for  him,  the  inner  apartments  underwent  considerable 
alterations,  as  the  upper  floor  was  also  to  be  used  for  ofifices. 
Later,  however,  and  perhaps  at  no  very  distant  date,  workmen 
will  come  with  pick  and  shovel  to  tear  down  and  cart  away 
these  historic  walls.  The  stones  and  woodwork  which,  as  a 
house,  once  sheltered  the  greatest  statesman  of  our  time,  the 
windows  through  which  he  saw  the  sun  shine  upon  his  most 
important  labours,  wull  be  applied  to  vulgar  uses.  The  wall 
papers  w^hich  witnessed  momentous  councils  and  interview's 
will  be  scattered  to  the  winds,  and  after  the  rubbish  heaps  have 
been  cleared  away,  a  pretentious  palatial  building  of  two  or 
three  stories  will  rise  on  the  site,  and  cause  the  old  house  to  be 
forgotten. 

Reason  says  it  must  be  so.  The  little  house  in  which  he 
lived  may  disappear,  if  only  the  great  structure  which  he 
erected  remains  filled  with  his  spirit.  But  for  those  to  whom 
the  house  has  become  as  closely  identified  with  its  occupants 
as  the  shell  with  its  inlying  mother-of-pearl,  sentiment  also  has 


426  NO.    76   WILIIELMSTRASSE 

its  claims,  and  if  those  claims  are  to  be  discharged,  care  must 
be  taken  that  when  destruction  overtakes  it,  our  hero's  dwelling- 
place  shall  at  least  continue  to  live  in  the  printed  annals  of  our 
race. 

No.  ^6  Wilhelmstrasse,  which,  during  the  decade  and  a  half 
spent  by  Bismarck  under  its  roof  has  been  the  most  distin- 
guished and  finally  the  most  influential  Foreign  Office  in  the 
world,  was,  both  externally  and  internally,  one  of  the  most  in- 
significant-looking and  uncomfortable  of  buildings.  The  Pre- 
fecture of  a  French  provincial  town,  such,  for  instance,  as  that 
of  Versailles  or  Nancy,  is,  as  a  general  rule,  both  more  roomy 
and  imposing  than  the  narrow  and  old-fashioned  tenement  in 
which  the  Chancellor  of  the  German  Empire  and  the  officials 
of  the  Political  Department  of  the  Foreign  Office  were  housed 
for  almost  sixteen  years.  Chosen  as  the  residence  of  the  Min- 
ister at  a  time  when  Prussia  was  only  occasionally  reckoned 
among  the  effectually  great  Powers  of  Europe,  it  may  not 
merely  have  sufficed  for  its  purpose,  so  long  as  that  period 
lasted,  but  have  been,  to  .some  extent,  an  adequate  symbol  of 
her  slight  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  outer  world.  After 
Prussia  had  taken  a  higher  rank  and  compelled  the  world's 
attention,  after  her  diplomacy  had  developed  into  fuller  activity, 
it  was,  if  not  materially  indispensable,  at  least  fitting  and  ex- 
pedient that  something  better  should  be  provided.  The  fact 
that  this  was  only  done  at  a  late  period  is  due  mainly  to  the 
simple  tastes  of  Prince  Bismarck,  who,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
contented  himself  throughout  his  campaigns  with  scanty  shelter, 
quite  incommensurate  with  his  rank. 

The  former  residence  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor  was  built 
in  the  first  half  of  the  last  century,  and  in  18 19,  when  it  was 
purchased  by  the  Treasury,  was  in  the  possession  of  Alopaeus, 
the  Russian  Minister  of  that  time.  It  is  situated  not  far  from 
the  Wilhelmsplatz,  and  nearly  opposite  to  the  palace  of  Prince 
Charles.  It  is  flanked  on  the  one  side  by  a  palace  which  be- 
longed to  Prince  Radziwill  until  about  four  years  ago,  when, 
liaving  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  German  I^mpire,  it 
was  transformed  into  a  residence  for  Prince  l^ismarck,  and  the 
Imjierial  Chancellerie,  while  on  the  other  side  is  the  building 
formerly  occupied  by  Dcckner's  printing  establishment,  which 
has  also  been  for  some  time  the  property  of  the  .State.      Behind 


THE   ENTRANCE  427 

tiic  house  is  a  spacious  garden,  which  reaches  as  far  as  the  Konig- 
graetzer  Strasse  —  the  only  beautiful  feature  of  the  whole  resi- 
dence. Looked  at  from  the  front,  No.  76  Wilhelmstrasse  is  a 
grey  stucco  house  of  moderate  size.  To  the  left  on  the  ground 
floor  is  a  carriage  entrance,  while  to  the  right  extends  a  row  of 
eleven  windows.  On  the  first  floor  there  are  thirteen  windows, 
and  above  a  small  flat  gable  projects  from  the  tiled  roof,  beneath 
which  are  four  pilasters  in  low  relief,  with  Corinthian  capitals 
rising  between  the  middle  windows.  There  is  no  other  orna- 
mentation of  any  kind.  Whoever  wishes  may  add  to  the  pict- 
ure, according  to  his  own  fancy,  a  few  Chancery  messengers 
with  leather  portfolios  ;  Leverstroem,  the  "  Black  Horseman  " 
(who  acts  as  the  bearer  of  hurried  messages,  inquiries,  and 
invitations) ;  or  one  or  other  of  the  Ministers  of  foreign  repre- 
sentatives stepping  out  of  his  carriage  to  pay  the  Chancellor  a 
visit. 

If  we  pull  the  bell  of  the  outer  door  it  opens  for  us,  only  to 
close  immediately  behind  our  backs.  We  find  ourselves  in  a 
gateway  which  opens  on  a  small  passage  between  two  walls, 
behind  which  a  portion  of  the  garden  is  visible.  On  the  right 
there  is  a  window,  behind  the  panes  of  which  a  watchful  eye 
studies  our  appearance.  Further  on  we  come  to  the  steps  of  a 
stone  staircase,  and  a  landing  with  a  chessboard  pattern  in  red 
and  white  ;  then  a  yellow  folding  screen  before  a  glass  door 
between  two  grey  Doric  columns.  On  either  side  right  and  left 
of  the  staircase  crouches  a  sphinx  —  mute,  deep-gazing,  and 
doubtless  profoundly  wise,  which  the  stranger  may  regard  as 
an  intimation  that  he  stands  on  the  threshold  of  a  mysterious 
region,  inaccessible  to  most  mortals.  The  watchful  one  awaits 
the  visitor  outside  the  small  door,  which  opens  on  to  the  landing 
behind  one  of  the  sphinxes,  scrutinises  him  closely,  and  inquires 
whom  he  wishes  to  see.  This  is  Herr  Linstedt,  the  Porter  of 
the  Foreign  Office. 

Let  us  suppose  that  the  stranger  is  in  a  position  to  satisfy 
this  strict,  though  polite,  janitor  as  to  his  right  to  visit  all  the 
mysterious  chambers  behind  the  screen  (which,  by  the  way. 
Prince  Napoleon  on  his  visit  to  Bismarck  is  understood  not  to 
have  been  able  to  do  without  some  delay),  and  let  us  further 
suppose  that  our  stroll  through  the  building  takes  place  in  one 
of  the  three  years  from  February,  1870,  to  March,  1873.     These 


428  THE   FORECOURT  OF  THE  GENTILES 

are  among  the  most  important  years  of  the  last  decades ;  and 
since  then,  as  already  indicated,  alterations  have  been  made 
both  in  the  arrangement  of  the  rooms  and  in  the  personnel 
employed  there.  Finally,  it  may  perhaps  be  well  to  remember 
before  entering,  and  to  bear  constantly  in  mind,  that  this  is  not 
the  office  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor,  —  a  misunderstanding 
which  to  my  knowledge  was  formerly  very  frequent,  and  which 
may  occur  occasionally  even  now,  — but  the  Foreign  Office,  or, 
to  be  still  more  precise,  the  first  or  political  department  of  the 
Foreign  Office,  which  works  immediately  under  the  control  of 
the  Imperial  Chancellor.  The  Imperial  Chancellerie,  properly 
so  called,  is  now  located  in  the  palatial  building,  Nos.  i  and  2 
Wilhclmsplatz  ;  while  during  the  period  here  referred  to  it  was 
also  rather  poorly  housed.  The  Imperial  Chancellerie,  which 
is  to  a  certain  extent  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  for  Germany, 
at  that  time  under  the  control  of  Herr  Delbriick,  was,  and  is, 
both  actually  and  for  purposes  of  business,  about  as  distinct 
from  the  Foreign  Office  as  is  the  Ministry  of  War  and  the 
Admiralty. 

An  ominous  twilight  prevails  in  the  chambers  behind  the 
screens.  A  door  to  the  right  leads  into  the  room  occupied  by 
the  deciphering  clerks.  To  the  left  a  rather  broad  staircase, 
which  receives  its  light  from  a  small  cupola  decorated  with 
green  and  gold  arabesques,  leads  to  the  first  floor,  on  which 
is  situated  the  official  residence  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor. 
For  the  present  we  pass  by  these  carpeted  stairs  in  order  to 
continue  our  inspection  of  the  lower  regions.  A  few  paces 
further  on,  and  we  find  ourselves  in  a  small  dark  passage, 
which  is  lighted  with  hanging  lamps,  even  in  the  daytime. 
It  ends  at  a  folding  door  leading  into  a  large  chamber  occu- 
pied by  the  Secretary  of  State,  which  looks  out  on  to  the  back- 
yard and  the  garden.  On  the  left-hand  side  of  the  passage 
ri  second  door  oj^cns  into  the  room  of  the  Chancery  attendants. 
Passing  through  this  to  a  third  door  we  enter  a  small  dimly 
lighted  antechamber,  which  might  —  if  it  were  possible  to 
compare  the  Foreign  Office  to  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  — 
correspond  to  the  Forecourt  of  the  Gentiles,  or  be  described 
as  the  space  where  the  Proselytes  of  the  Gate  collected  to- 
gether. In  other  words,  here  the  minor  officials  of  the  Min- 
istry receive   and    despatch    business   with    outsiders,   i.e.,  with 


AN    Ol'I'RKSSlVK   AT.MOSI'MKRK  429 

persons  who  do  not  bclonc;  to  the  Foreign  Office,  l^ehind 
the  folding  doors  visible  to  the  right  and  left  of  this  ante- 
chamber is  holy  ground,  unapproachable  for  the  profane  world, 
and  only  accessible  to  the  Levites  and  jjriests.  On  the  right 
Secretaries  cijiher,  decipher,  and  copy  despatches.  To  the  left 
those  who  are  initiated  and  have  the  right  of  entry  find  them- 
selves first  in  the  Central  Bureau,  the  headquarters  of  the 
Secretaries  for  confidential  correspondence,  and  then  in  a  small 
labyrinth  of  rooms,  cells,  and  partitions,  in  which  officials  of 
various  grades  in  the  diplomatic  hierarchy  are  engaged  with 
the  secrets  of  the  house,  mostly  seated  a  few  paces,  and  some- 
times hardly  three  feet,  from  each  other. 

The  impression  left  by  this  series  of  chambers  is  not  at  all 
a  pleasant  one,  especially  if  the  visitor  has  been  previously  in 
the  Ministry  of  Commerce  or  the  Imperial  Chancellerie,  and  is 
able  and  disposed  to  make  comparisons.  In  such  circumstances 
one  may  perhaps  think  of  Faust's  "  drangvoll  fuerchterliche 
Enge ": — 

'•  Beschraenkt  von  diesem  Buecherhauf, 

Mit  Instrumenten  voll  gepfropft, 
Urvaeter  Hausrath  drein  gestopft." 

Such  is  the  oppressive  sultriness,  particularly  when  the  visit 
takes  place  in  the  evening,  and  the  steam  of  a  dozen  oil  lamps 
is  added  to  the  smell  of  documents,  printer's  ink,  and  the  close 
air,  revolting  the  nose  and  distressing  the  lungs,  that  one  can- 
not help  wondering  how  it  is  that  lamps  can  possibly  burn  in 
such  an  atmosphere,  and  that  such  an  accumulation  of  evil 
gases  does  not  lead  to  explosions  and  accidents  as  in  ill-ven- 
tilated mines. 

This  is  no  exaggeration.  Man  becomes  accustomed  to 
everything  upon  this  earth,  even  to  eating  arsenic  and  to  the 
poisonous  air  of  overcrowded  rooms.  Such  rooms,  however, 
do  not  on  that  account  become  any  the  pleasanter  to  live  in. 
Another  and  almost  equally  serious  inconvenience  to  which 
several  of  those  engaged  there  have  perforce  to  become  recon- 
ciled is  that  of  having  to  work  so  close  together  in  small 
rooms,  sometimes  only  divided  by  a  papered  partition,  through 
which  every  conversation  not  conducted  in  a  whisper  interrupts 


430  ANlKjLATED  FURNITURE 

the  course  of  their  own  thoughts,  and  (I  refer  of  course  to  the 
period  above  specified,  though  I  quote  from  my  diary  in  the 
present  tense)  the  inconvenience  is  not  diminished  by  the  cir- 
cumstance that  some  of  the  gentlemen  employed  there  seem 
unable  to  speak  in  a  low  voice. 

The  furniture,  which  includes  some  fossils  from  the  prime- 
val Alopaeus  period,  is  made  of  every  kind  of  wood  grown  in 
our  forests  and  gardens,  and  constructed  in  every  fashion  and 
style  of  cabinet-making,  reaching  back  to  the  last  century. 
Yellow  plum-tree,  dark  mahogany,  common  deal,  japanned, 
polished,  and  merely  planed  wood,  writing-tables,  standing  and 
cylinder  desks,  document  cupboards,  open  shelves  for  books, 
journals  and  papers,  and,  in  the  furthest  chambers  of  the  laby- 
rinth, a  few  sofas,  each  of  which  almost  invariably  differs  in 
shape  and  material  from  its  neighbour,  are  arranged  along  the 
walls  in  motley  array.  Several  of  these  have  the  dignity  of 
age.  Not  the  most  ancient  of  these  grey  and  antique  relics  is 
a  desk  at  which  some  official  has,  I  believe  for  thirty  years, 
always  sharpened  his  pencil  on  the  same  spot,  until  at  length 
his  penknife  has  dug  a  hole  right  through  the  inch  and  a  half 
thickness  of  the  wood.  These  venerable  survivals  are  calcu- 
lated to  provoke  many  thoughts  both  serious  and  humorous ; 
but  there  is  one  in  particular  which  they  all  suggested,  at  any 
rate  to  me.  How  it  must  have  worried  these  ancient  pieces  of 
furniture,  after  so  many  years  and  decades  of  fruitless  but  com- 
fortable routine,  to  find  themselves  suddenly  roused  in  1862  by 
the  new  spirit  that  had  entered  and  filled  the  house !  Can  they 
ever  have  grown  reconciled  to  that  swift,  exacting,  imperious, 
and  not  very  considerate  genius,  even  when  they  saw  the  fruits, 
the  immense  success,  of  the  organisation  which  he  introduced  ? 
One  must  assume  that  furniture  has  no  interest  in  or  under- 
standing of  such  matters. 

It  would  be  a  pleasant  addition  if  I  were  at  liberty  to  com- 
plete my  description  of  these  rooms  with  characteristic  portraits 
of  their  occupants.  They  would  be  as  statues  and  pictures  in 
the  house  which  I  have  built  with  words,  and  it  is  possible  that 
a  couple  of  original  figures  would  be  found  among  the  number. 
There  are,  however,  certain  grounds  for  hesitation,  of  which  I 
will  on]}-  mention  the  following  —  that  as  a  rule  dignity  will  not 
suffer  a  jest;    furthermore,  that  a  member  of    the  nc^i-official 


A   DELICATE   I'OINT  43  1 

world  runs  some  risk  of  forming  an  incorrect  or  unfair  opinion 
of  an  official;  and  that  the  latter  —  if  he  is  of  the  right  sort 
wishes  neither  to  be  praised  nor  blamed  by  persons  outside  his 
own  circle,  nor  indeed  even  mentioned  oftener  than  is  necessary. 
Such  an  one  ttesires  sim{)ly  to  do  his  duty,  and  contents  himself 
with  his  own  legitimate  sense  of  personal  worth,  which  in  this 
instance  is  all  the  more  praiseworthy,  as  those  whose  portraits 
1  should  here  have  to  attempt  are  officials  of  rank  and  title. 

These  considerations  made  me  hesitate.  Finally,  however, 
others  forced  themselves  upon  me.  The  picture  of  the  Chan- 
cellor's life  must  be  made  as  complete  as  possible ;  and  the 
truth,  which  through  machinations  in  the  press  has  been  in 
many  instances  seriously  obscured  and  disfigured,  must  no 
longer  suffer  violence.  I  therefore  adopt  a  middle  course,  and 
take  from  my  diary,  where  they  have  been  preserved  till  now 
for  the  purpose  of  private  reference,  certain  of  the  above-men- 
tioned statues  and  pictures,  the  originals  of  which  have  in  the 
meantime  either  died  or  been  placed  in  an  entirely  false  light  in 
the  public  mind.  These  I  exhibit  partly  here  and  partly  in  the 
later  chapters.  History,  to  which  these  fellow-workers  of  the 
Chancellor  now  belong,  must  know  how  they  appear  to  an  im- 
partial observer.  To  this  necessity  all  other  considerations 
must  give  way.  Of  the  other  gentlemen  I  only  give  the  names, 
recall  their  titles,  mention  in  general  that  they  are  more  or  less 
richly  provided  with  the  usual  decorations,  and  indicate  in  a  few 
words  some  of  their  principal  features. 

We  had  remained  in  the  first  room  to  the  left  of  the  dusky 
antechamber  already  described,  which  I  took  the  liberty  of  com- 
paring to  the  Forecourt  of  the  Gentiles.  Under  the  windows 
are  the  writing  tables  and  desks  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Central 
Bureau,  who,  if  I  am  rightly  informed,  occupy  the  first  rank 
among  the  minor  officials  of  the  Empire.  Gchcimcr  HofmtJi 
Roland,  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau,  has  his  place  under  the  fur- 
thest window,  in  the  region  of  the  Councillors  of  Embassy.  He 
is  an  elderly  gentleman,  who  entered  at  a  time  when  these  posi- 
tions were  mainly  or  exclusively  occupied  by  members  of  the 
French  colony,  and  when  the  principal  business  of  the  Central 
Bureau,  namely  the  registration  of  all  documents  despatched 
and  received,  was  conducted  in  the  French  language.  He  is 
a  paragon  of  registrars,  although  just  a  little  brusque,  and  he 


432  THE  CKXTRAL   BUREAU 

might  perhaps  also  be  described  as  a  good  calculator,  in  a  cer- 
tain sense.  Nino  orders  and  medals  decorate  his  meritorious 
breast,  when  on  festive  occasions  he  dons  his  uniform  of  a  lieu- 
tenant of  the  Reserve.  Thoroughly  well  versed  in  the  etiquette 
of  official  intercourse,  he  would,  in  writing  to  the  Minister,  never 
subscribe  himself  other  than  "most  obedient  humble  servant"; 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  "  obedient  "  ;  to  an  Ambassador,  "  most 
dutiful";  or  to  an  Envoy,  "most  respectful."  In  writing  to 
Biilow  and  Keudell,  he  signs  himself  "your  most  obedient," 
possibly  because  they  are  Kassenraethe,  or  perhaps  because  of 
their  titles  of  nobility.  To  Bucher  and  the  other  Privy  Coun- 
cillors he  is  only  "  your  obedient,"  to  officials  of  equal  rank 
"  most  humble,"  and  to  inferiors  "  humble."  The  next  in  place 
and  rank  is  "  Hofrath  "  Hesse,  formerly  a  theologian,  and  also 
advanced  in  years.  Then  come  Herr  Bolsing,  also  for  some 
time  past  a  ''Hofrath,''  and  the  "  Gehcini  Sekretdr,'"  Wollmann, 
who  has  not  yet  been  awarded  the  higher  predicate. 

I  wish  again  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  descrip- 
tions and  names  refer  to  the  period  of  1873. 

As  already  cursorily  noted,  the  Central  Bureau  is  the  de- 
spatching and  registering  department  of  the  Foreign  Office. 
It  is  the  centre  from  which  all  the  ideas  and  orders  of  the  Chan- 
cellor, as  worked  up  by  the  Councillors  in  the  form  of  notes, 
despatches,  telegrams,  instructions,  &c.,  radiate  out  into  the 
world,  and  it  is  the  point  at  which  all  those  coming  in  from  out- 
side, such  as  documents,  reports,  and  letters  addressed  to  the 
Minister  personally,  or  to  the  Ministry,  are  opened,  registered 
according  to  their  contents,  communicated  to  the  Chief,  and, 
after  use  —  so  far  as  it  is  desirable  to  retain  them  — arranged 
in  bundles  and  pigeon-holed  in  the  presses  which  line  the  walls, 
until  they  ultimately  find  their  way  into  the  State  archives. 

Adjoining  the  room  occupied  by  the  Gchciin  Sckretdrc,  is 
a  narrow,  one-windowed  cell,  with  book  shelves,  newspaper 
cupboards,  and  other  furniture,  including  the  patient  writing- 
desk  above  mentioned,  with  its  counterpart  to  the  proverb  that 
"  Constant  dropping  wears  the  stone,"  which  has  made  the 
clearest  and  most  lasting  impression  ui)on  my  memory,  as  it 
was  assigned  to  me  as  my  jilace  of  work.  Next  t(j  this  little 
chamber,  which  at  the  same  time  served  as  a  thoroughfare  to 
the  larger  room  of  the  Secretaries,  was  a  still  smaller  one,  not 


J.OTHAR    lilCIIKK  433 

more  thnn  two  j^ood  paces  in  breadth,  which  was  divided  from 
the  tormer  by  a  thin  wooden  partition  papered  over.  Within 
these  narrow  conhncs  two  Rathe  (Councillors),  the  antipodes 
of  each  other,  Lothar  Jkicher  and  Aegidi,  were  from  the  sum- 
mer of  1871  driven  to  seek  elbow-room  and  a  few  feet  of  space 
to  move  about  in,  and,  what  is  still  stranger,  they  managed  to 
iind  it.  A  full  account  must  be  given  of  the  first  mentioned 
of  these.  One  day,  when  the  secret  history  of  the  Bismarckian 
era  can  be  written,  the  name  of  this  little  unpretentious  man  in 
the  modest  cell  will  have  to  occupy  a  prominent,  and  perhaps, 
indeed,  the  first  place  among  the  Chancellor's  fellow-labourers. 
And  with  justice!  I  do  not  exaggerate  when  I  assert  that  of 
the  assistants  who  cooperated  in  the  work  of  our  political  re- 
generator, Bucher  was  in  every  respect  the  most  gifted  and  the 
best  informed,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was  unquestionably 
the  man  of  strongest  character,  conscientiousness,  unselfishness, 
and  loyalty  among  them.  He  was  a  man  of  genuine  distinction, 
and  with  his  clear  and  fine  understanding,  his  wealth  of  know- 
ledge, his  skill  in  political  affairs,  and  his  great  power  of  work, 
he  was,  jn  short  —  to  borrow  the  words  in  which  our  master 
once  spoke  of  him  to  me  —  "a  real  pearl."  Space  fails  me  to 
show  this  at  due  length,  and  indications  and  outlines,  with  a  few 
illustrations  of  his  worth,  must  suffice  in  some  degree  to  give 
an  idea  of  this  rare  character.  His  name  will  recur  repeatedly 
in  the  diary,  which  will,  as  far  as  possible,  make  up  for  what 
may  be  lacking  here. 

Adolph  Lothar  Bucher  was  born  at  Neustettin,  on  the  25th 
of  October,  18 17.  When  he  was  two  years  of  age  his  family 
moved  to  Koeslin  in  Further  Pomerania,  where  his  father,  a 
Saxon  of  the  Electorate,  and  much  respected  as  a  philologian 
and  geographer,  was  Professor  and  Pro-Rector  of  the  Gymna- 
sium or  High  School.  Here  the  boy  received  his  earliest  in- 
struction and  his  first  conscious  impressions  of  the  world  and 
life.  The  fact  that  his  father  was  a  friend  of  Ludwig  Jahn's 
must  have  had  some  influence  on  his  riper  youth.  The  sub- 
jects for  which  he  showed  the  greatest  aptitude  at  school  were 
mathematics  and  natural  philosophy  ;  and  as  the  time  for  choos- 
ing a  profession  drew  near  he  first  wished  to  become  a  sailor 
and  afterwards  an  architect.  His  parents,  on  the  other  hand, 
preferred  one  of  the  learned  professions;  and    he    decided  to 


434  BUCIIER'S    EARLY    CAREER 

adopt  the  study  of  the  law,  for  which  purpose  he  went  to  Ber- 
Hn  University.  Here  he  found  in  progress  the  well-known 
conflict  between  the  historical  and  philosophical  schools,  be- 
tween Savigny  and  Gans.  He  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  latter, 
and  occupied  himself  diligently  with  the  study  of  Hegel,  their 
chief  master.  Subsequently,  however,  his  inclination  for  phi- 
losophv  cooled  down,  and  he  devoted  himself  exclusively  to 
jurisprudence.  From  1838  to  1843  he  was  engaged  in  the 
chief  Provincial  Court  at  Koeslin,  and  in  the  latter  year  was 
appointed  Assessor  in  the  Court  at  Stolp,  which  town  returned 
him  as  its  representative  to  the  Prussian  National  Assembly  in 
March,  1848,  and  a  year  later  to  the  Parliament  which  had  in 
the  meantime  been  created.  Up  to  1840  there  had  practically 
been  no  public  life  in  Prussia  in  the  present  sense  of  the  words. 
The  new  representative  from  Further  Pomerania  was  a  jurist, 
whose  education  had  been  in  the  main  confined  to  civil  law, 
and  who  had  had  no  experience  whatever  of  affairs  of  State. 
Moreover,  he  had  read  Rotteck  and  Welcker  in  his  leisure  hours, 
and  had  with  his  inborn  thoroughness  assimilated  their  views 
on  history  and  politics.  It  was  therefore  almost  a  matter  of 
course,  particularly  when  the  revolutionary  spirit  is  taken  into 
account,  which  at  that  time  swept  like  a  stormy  west  wind 
through  the  German  States,  shaking  all  the  trees  and  loosening 
every  joint,  that  Bucher  should  have  taken  his  seat  upon  the 
left  benches  and  devoted  his  gifts  as  a  jurist  and  as  a  speaker 
to  the  service  of  Radicalism.  It  should  be  observed,  however, 
that  he  did  not  belong  to  the  Waldeck  party,  which  despised 
the  rules  of  polite  conduct,  and  just  as  little  to  those  who  de- 
lighted in  the  art  of  pathetic  oratory.  Speaking  of  him  in  his 
''  Doiki^ucrdigkcitcji,''  General  von  Brandt  says:  "I  have  never 
heard  any  one  speak  with  more  talent  and  moderation  than 
liucher  on  this  occasion  (the  debate  in  Committee  on  the  so- 
called  Habeas  Corpus  Act).  His  blond  hair  and  dispassionate 
attitude  reminded  me  strongly  of  pictures  of  St.  Just.  Bucher 
was  a  ruthless  leveller  of  all  existing  institutions,  rank,  and 
projDcrtw  He  was  one  of  the  most  consistent  members  of  the 
National  Assembly,  and  was  determined  to  take  every  step 
which  seemed  to  lead  towards  the  attainment  of  his  object, 
namely  virtue  as  the  i)rincii)le,  and  fraternal  affection  in  the 
conduct  of  affairs.     With  no  knowledge  of  society  and  devoted 


AS   A    PAKLIAMKMAKIAN  435 

to  sterile  legal  abstractions,  he  was  fully  convinced  that  the 
salvation  of  the  world  could  only  be  secured  by  the  sudden  and 
violent  destruction  of  the  existing  State  and  social  arrange- 
ments. He  helped  to  organise  the  public  opposition,  and  in 
particular  to  spur  on  the  ambitious  and  turbulent  fraction  of 
the  National  Assembly  to  seize  a  Dictature.  The  ironical  con- 
tempt with  which  he  treated  the  existing  authorities  and  evinced 
his  hatred  of  the  old  constitution  of  the  State,  his  dogma  of  the 
sovereignty  of  the  people,  whom  he  intoxicated  with  their  own 
Radical  chimeras,  together  with  the  ability  which  he  displayed 
for  the  role  of  a  demagogue,  would  have  enabled  him  in  time 
to  surpass  all  the  members  of  his  party  in  his  strictly  logical 
endeavours." 

In  Parliament  Bucher  was  particularly  active  in  promoting 
the  various  measures  of  reorganisation.  He  played  an  espe- 
cially important  part  as  the  reporter  on  the  motion  by  Waldeck, 
calling  upon  the  Ministry  to  raise  the  state  of  minor  siege 
which  had  been  declared  against  Berlin  on  the  12th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1848.  He  found  no  difficulty  on  this  occasion,  when  he 
again  spoke  mainly  as  a  jurist,  in  proving  the  illegality  of  the 
measure,  as  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  impossible  to 
justify  it  by  Article  no  of  the  Constitution  which  only  came 
into  force  three  weeks  later,  and  the  more  so  as  this  article  only 
dealt  with  the  suspension  of  certain  fundamental  rights  in  case 
of  war  or  revolution.  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  existed  in 
Berlin  on  the  12th  of  November,  and  the  Minister  had  not  only 
suspended  the  fundamental  rights,  but  had  subjected  citizens  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  courts-martial,  of  which  there  was  no  men- 
tion in  Article  no,  and  for  which  older  laws  also  contained  no 
provision.  The  resolution  passed  by  the  House  on  that  occasion 
led  to  its  dissolution,  followed  on  the  4th  of  February  by  the 
so-called  Refusal  of  Taxes  Trial.  .  .  .  The  special  hatred  of 
Bucher  in  the  higher  circles,  as  evinced  in  the  course  of  this 
trial,  was  due  to  his  above-mentioned  report  on  the  illegality  of 
the  state  of  siege.  The  proceedings  ended  in  the  acquittal  of 
most  of  the  accused.  Bucher  and  three  others  were,  however, 
found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  three  months'  confinement  in  a 
fortress,  with  the  usual  additions,  namely  loss  of  civic  rights, 
and,  for  officials,  dismissal  from  the  service  of  the  State. 

This  turn  of  affairs,  and  still  more  the  vexations  with  which 


436  BUCHER'S   SOJOURN   IN   LONDON 

he  was  threatened  by  the  police  after  the  termination  of  his 
imprisonment,  decided  Bucher  to  go  abroad.  He  settled  per- 
manently in  London.  Here  began  for  him  a  period  of  enlight- 
enment, which  resulted  in  the  gradual  transformation  of  the 
juridical  theorist  and  idealist  into  a  practical  politician.  He 
occupied  himself  at  first  with  the  study  of  politics  and  political 
economy,  and  with  the  observation  of  English  methods  and 
customs,  whereby  he  found  himself  in  many  respects  disap- 
pointed with  his  former  ideals,  and  filled  with  repugnance  and 
contempt  of  things  and  persons  which  he,  like  other  Liberals, 
had  previously  admired.  Among  the  acquaintances  which  he 
made  here  were  Urquhart,  and  afterwards  Mazzini,  Ledru 
Rollin,  and  Herzen.  The  last  three  in  particular  contributed  to 
his  further  transformation  by  openly  speculating  in  his  pres- 
ence on  sundry  strips  of  German  territory  in  the  South,  West, 
and  East,  which  were  required  in  satisfaction  of  the  doctrine  of 
nationalities.  This  aroused  a  certain  distrust  in  Bucher's  mind, 
which  in  this  respect  did  not  suffer  from  the  disease  of  "  prin- 
ciple." His  untainted  patriotism  warned  him  of  the  desirability 
of  prudence.  The  experience  and  the  convictions  which  he 
obtained  in  this  way  were,  together  with  other  material,  utilised 
by  him  in  the  German  press,  and  particularly  in  the  National 
Ztitiiui^,  to  which  he  for  several  years  contributed  political 
articles  which  attracted  widespread  attention  by  the  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  subjects  dealt  with,  their  wealth  and  depth  of 
thought,  and  the  highly  original  views  of  which  they  gave  evi- 
dence. He  also  wrote  for  the  same  paper  some  excellent 
re])orts  of  the  London  Industrial  Exhibition,  on  English  house- 
hold arrangements  worthy  of  imitation,  and  on  other  practical 
matters.  He  did  eminent  service  in  the  enlightenment  of  such 
Liberal  minds  as  were  not  closed  to  argument  by  his  letters 
on  I'2nglish  Parliamentarism,  a  brilliant  criticism,  which  indi- 
rectly hit  upon  the  weak  points  of  Parliamentarism  in  general, 
and  confuted  the  current  heresy  that  the  German  popular  rep- 
resentation should  be  modelled  in  every  particular  on  the  British 
system.  He  produced  convincing  arguments  that  the  English 
Constitution  was  not  a  manufactured  article,  but  a  growth,  the 
product  of  the  English  State  and  social  life  and  character,  and 
further  that  Constitutional  arrangements  cannot  be  everywhere 
the  same,  but  must  correspond  with  the  fundamental  character, 


IIUCIIER   AND    LASSALLE  437 

history,  and  prevailing;  conditions  of  each  separate  country.  To 
this  was  added  evidence,  which  was  then  necessary,  but  is  now 
no  loni;er  recjuired  by  any  sensible  man,  showing;  that  the  ling- 
lish  art  of  government,  so  far  as  foreign  affairs  are  concerned  — 
when  the  ornamental  veil  of  fine  phrases  is  torn  off  —  is  noth- 
ing more  than  a  commercial  policy  of  the  most  self-seeking  kind, 
devoid  of  all  ideal  motives  and  historical  breadth.  In  these 
letters  the  difficulties  and  the  seamy  side  of  English  Parliamen- 
tary life  and  the  weaknesses  of  their  leaders,  Palmerston,  Glad- 
stone, the  "  Doctor  supernaturalis "  Cobden,  and  the  whole 
gang  of  hypocritical  and  egotistic  apostles  of  l^>nglish  Free 
Trade  were  illuminated  by  a  light  of  truly  electric  brilliancy 
and  clearness.  It  was  a  ruthless  exposure  of  a  kind  that  has 
rarely  been  witnessed,^ 

In  i860  Bucher,  probably  tired  of  working  for  the  press, 
thought  of  emigrating  to  Central  America,  where  he  had  ac- 
quired a  piece  of  land  (which  was  still  in  his  possession  twenty 
years  later),  in  order  to  become  a  coffee  planter  under  his  own 
palms  and  mangrove  bushes.  Fate  decided,  however,  that  he 
belonged  to  growing  Germany,  and  the  amnesty  of  that  year 
permitted  his  return  to  Berlin.  Here  he  renewed  his  former 
friendship  with  Rodbertus,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Lassalle,  to  whom  his  intercourse  soon  became  indispensable, 
while  Bucher  on  his  side  felt  attracted  in  many  ways  towards 
Lassalle.  The  Socialist  agitator  was  a  very  different  character 
to  his  heirs  of  to-day,  a  man  of  the  highest  ability,  with  whom 
Bismarck  himself  did  not  disdain  to  correspond,  a  respected 
savant  who  was  highly  esteemed  by  Bockh,  and  a  resolute 
patriot  who  was  only  led  into  folly  by  his  boundless  ambition. 
As  a  follower  of  Hegel,  he  belonged  to  a  different  school  of 
thought  to  Bucher,  but  was  yet  in  agreement  with  the  latter  in 
his  belief  in  the  "iron  law  of  wages,"  and  like  him  convinced 
that  the  State  alone  could  reform  the  evils  from  which  the 
labouring  classes  suffered.  Bucher's  former  political  associates 
on  the  other  hand  belonged  to  the  Manchester  school,  consider- 
ing that  the  true  way  of  salvation  lay  in  "  laisser  faire  "  and  free 

^  These  articles  formed  the  basis  of  the  book  Der  Parlaiiientarisinus  wie  er  is/, 
a  second  edition  of  which  appeared  in  1881,  while  others  were  utilised  for  a  second 
volume,  Bilder  aus  der  Fremdc,  fiir  die  Heimath  gezeichnet  (  "  Pictures  from  Abroad 
painted  for  those  at  Home"). 


438  BUCHER    ENTERS  THE   FOREIGN   OFFICE 

competition,  that  is  to  say  in  the  destruction  of  the  weak  by  the 
strong.  They  further  swore  by  the  principle  of  the  National- 
vereiu,  and  detesting  the  idea  of  war  for  this  purpose,  they 
wished  to  unite  Germany  under  Prussia  by  "  moral "  means,  by 
a  "  popular  policy,"  speeches,  and  leading  articles,  and  by 
athletic,  singing,  and  prize-shooting  festivals.  In  this  respect 
also  Bucher,  as  a  practical  politician  and  contemner  of  phrases, 
was  of  a  decidedly  different  opinion  to  his  friends  of  the  Aht- 
tio)ial  Zeitung,  and  the  difference  in  their  views  led  gradually 
to  an  estrangement  which  was  accompanied  by  an  inward 
approach  to  Bismarck's  standpoint  in  the  German  question, 
resulting  ultimately  in  the  cooperation  of  the  two.  Bucher  had 
severed  his  connection  with  the  National  Zeitimg,  and  was  by 
no  means  satisfied  with  the  position  which  he  afterwards  took 
in  Wolf's  Telegraph  Agency.  He  therefore  thought  of  seeking 
work  as  a  lawyer,  and  wrote  to  the  Minister  of  Justice  on  the 
subject.  Bismarck  heard  of  his  plans  through  the  latter.  He 
asked  Bucher  to  see  him,  and  offered  him  occupation  at  the 
Foreign  Office,  which  was  accepted  after  some  little  hesitation. 
Bucher,  the  whilom  democrat,  the  former  member  of  the  Prus- 
sian party  of  the  Mountain,  who  had  hurled  oratorical  bomb- 
shells at  the  Minister,  had  been  cured  by  a  sound  understanding, 
experience,  and  change  of  air;  and,  in  1864,  he  was  already  in 
full  and  fruitful  activity  at  No.  y6  Wilhelmstrasse,  where  he 
continued  for  two  decades.  He  did  excellent  service  to  the  new 
German  world  in  the  most  various  ways,  as  lawyer,  diplomatist, 
and  publicist,  and  fully  justified  the  confidence  of  him  who  had 
chosen  him  as  a  fellow-worker.  In  the  years  1865  to  1867  he 
was  chiefly  entrusted  with  the  administration  of  Lauenburg,  a 
difficult  task,  as  this  Duchy  when  it  came  into  the  possession 
of  Prussia  was  two  centuries  behind  the  times,  both  in  its  legal 
institutions  and  in  its  methods  of  administration.  During  the 
same  period,  in  1866,  he  drew  up  for  his  Chief  the  Constitution 
of  the  North  German  Confederation  (the  principal  articles  of 
which  agree  in  the  main  with  that  of  the  German  Empire). 
Bismarck  of  course  had  given  him  the  main  lines  for  his  task, 
which  Bucher,  by  the  way,  completed  within  twenty  hours. 
He  was  afterwards  repeatedly  engaged  in  the  preparation  and 
execution  of  imj^ortant  political  work  and  regulations,  and  dis- 
charged with  skill  and  success  several  diplomatic  missions,  in- 


HISMARCK'S   CONl'IDKNCK  439 

eluding  two  of  universul  historical  importance.  He  became  so 
indispensable  to  the  Minister  that  the  latter  took  him  to  Varzin 
for  several  summers  while  on  holiday.  During  the  war  with 
France  Bucher  was  working  witli  the  Chancellor  at  headquarters 
from  the  end  of  September  up  to  the  preliminaries  of  peace,  and 
also  in  1S71  on  the  conclusion  of  the  definitive  treaty  at  Frank- 
fort, lie  kept  the  minutes  of  the  I^erlin  Congress  in  1878. 
He  wrote  a  great  number  of  the  most  imj)ortant  despatches  and 
memorials,  as  well  as  a  pamphlet  on  the  Cobden  Club,  for  which 
he  had  collected  material  in  England.  The  Chancellor  very 
seldom  made  any  alterations  in  his  work.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
Bucher  had  from  the  beginning  understood  him,  and  easil)' 
assimilated  his  views  of  things  in  individual  cases,  while  he  had 
the  further  advantage  of  being  able  to  take  down  verbal  com- 
munications in  shorthand. 

While  in  his  official  life  Bucher  enjoyed  the  high  esteem  and 
full  confidence  of  the  Chief,  whose  example  was  followed  more 
or  less  willingly  by  others,  he  experienced  in  later  years  consid- 
erable bitterness  and  neglect,  principally,  but  not  exclusively, 
under  the  Secretaries  of  State,  von  Biilow  and  Hatzfeld.  He 
finally  asked  for  his  discharge,  not  merely  on  account  of  age 
and  illness,  which  were  the  ostensible  motives.  His  request 
was  acceded  to.  He  declined  the  proposal  of  the  Prince  that 
he  should  retire  into  private  life  with  the  title  of  Excellency, 
because  "  he  could  not  then  have  continued  to  stitch  on  his  own 
buttons,  or  to  stroll  about  the  Jungfernhaide  with  a  botanist's 
impedimenta  on  his  back."  Bucher,  who  was  one  of  the  truest 
of  the  true,  paid  several  long  visits  to  the  Prince  after  the  fatal 
1 8th  of  March,  1890,  and  helped  him  to  prepare  his  Memoirs, 
of  which,  so  long  as  he  was  engaged  upon  them,  his  valuable 
assistance  materially  enhanced  the  trustworthiness. 

It  may  be  added  that  Bucher  remained  unmarried,  and  that, 
considering  his  position,  he  had  little  intercourse  during  recent 
years  with  his  fellows.  His  friends  in  diplomatic  circles  included 
Schloetzer,  Limburg-Stirum,  and  Kusseroff ;  and  in  the  financial 
world,  Hansemann  and  Werner  Siemens.  The  bond  between 
him,  Victor  Hehn,  and  myself  was  our  common  veneration  for 
the  Chancellor  and  our  equally  deep  contempt  for  hypocrisy  and 
place-hunting.  His  character  in  company  was  that  of  a  sober, 
taciturn  man,  who  was,  nevertheless,  by  no  means  devoid  of 


440  ABEKEN 

poetic  feeling  and  humour,  who  could  tell  many  a  good  story  in 
an  effective  manner,  and  who  sometimes  talked  also  in  very 
pleasant  fashion  of  his  canaries  and  the  Alpine  fiowers  in  his 
herbarium.  His  ideas  and  feelings  were  expressed  in  a  low 
tone,  without  being  wanting  in  energy.  A  cool  head,  but  a 
warm  heart ;  still  water,  but  clear  and  deep.  I  have  given  more 
time  and  space  to  his  picture  than  I  had  intended  at  first,  but 
I  believe  I  shall  have  thereby  compensated  for  the  mischief 
done  by  others  to  his  memory ;  for  I  remember  that  Count 
Caprivi's  menials,  who  had  the  preparation  of  the  ReicJisanzei- 
gcr,  thought  it  sufficient  to  devote  three  dry  lines  to  his  depart- 
ure when  he  passed  into  eternity  at  Glion,  on  the  Lake  of 
Geneva,  on  the   I2th  of  October,  1892. 

I  propose  to  deal  with  Keudell  later.  Of  Biilow  I  will  only 
remark  that  he  is  a  man  of  routine,  of  moderate  ability,  and  is 
understood  to  be  not  altogether  free  from  an  inclination  to  in- 
trigue. Geheimrath  Hepke,  a  lean,  wizened  man  in  the  fifties, 
is  not  a  very  pleasant  personage.  He  has  something  in  him 
of  the  Privy  Councillor  as  he  exists  in  the  popular  imagina- 
tion—  great  self-conceit,  a  consciousness  that  he  knows  prac- 
tically everything  considerably  better  than  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  doubtless  also  a  high  opinion  of  his  own  rank  and 
title. 

Leaving  the  room  where  Geheimrath  Hepke  works,  and 
proceeding  to  the  right  along  the  adjoining  narrow  passage, 
we  reach  the  small  room  containing  the  reference  library  of 
the  Ministry.  Here  at  a  window  which  opens  on  the  court 
another  Privy  Councillor  of  Embassy,  Count  Hatzfcld  (after- 
wards promoted  to  the  position  of  Minister  in  Madrid,  then  rep- 
resentative of  the  P^mpire  at  the  Porte,  and  in  1880  appointed 
Secretary  of  State  under  the  Imperial  Chancellor),  spends  a  few 
hours  daily.  In  the  next  room  we  hear  the  scratching  of  the 
ever-ready  pen  of  his  older  colleague,  Abeken,  whose  gifts  and 
character  must  now  be  dealt  with.  While  the  Chancellor  him- 
self selected  Lothar  Bucher  as  his  fellow-worker,  Abeken  came 
to  him  by  inheritance.  Heinrich  Abeken  may  be  regarded  in 
almost  every  respect  as  the  type  of  the  official  of  the  old  school. 
His  whole  being  and  inclinations  belong  to  that  epoch  in  our 
history  which  may  be  described  as  the  literary-oesthetic  era,  a 
time  when  political  affairs  were  of  secondary  interest  to  j)oetry, 


1-;CCL1;SIAS11CAL    lASTES 


441 


l)'ni!()soj)hy,  i)hilolc)gy  treated  from  an  artistic  standpoint,  and 
other  scientific  questions.  He  enjoyed  himself  most,  and  felt 
himself  most  at  home,  in  a  circle  of  ideas  which,  previous  to 
the  appearance  of  Jiismarck,  chiefly  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  Court,  the  ujjper  classes,  the  hi^^her  bourj^coisie,  and  persons 
of  education.  Indeed,  he  hardly  ever  for  a  single  moment 
thoroughly  threw  himself  into  politics.  Even  at  times  when  the 
welfare  of  his  country  appeared  to  be  at  stake  he  seemed  to 
be  more  interested  in  some  aesthetic  question  than  in  measures 
more  closely  connected  with  the  sphere  to  which  his  office 
assigned  him.  It  happened  not  infrequently  that  while  others 
were  anxiously  awaiting  the  outcome  of  a  political  crisis  his 
thoughts  were  occupied  by  an  entirely  different  subject,  so  that 
for  instance  the  verses  of  some  old  or  new  poet  kept  running 
through  his  head,  and  were  usually  recited  by  him  with  much 
pathos,  although  they  had  no  visible  connection  with  the  situa- 
tion of  the  moment.  Abeken,  who  hailed  from  Osnabriick,  was 
born  in  1809.  His  education  was  conducted  by  his  uncle  Bern- 
hard  Rudolf  Abeken,  the  philologist  and  writer  on  cesthetics, 
who  lived  at  Weimar  in  Schiller's  time,  and  who  had  assimilated 
the  style  of  sentiment  which  then  prevailed  there.  The  nephew 
afterwards  studied  theology,  and  in  1834  held  the  position  of 
Chaplain  to  the  Prussian  Embassy  in  Rome  under  Josias  Bun- 
sen.  He  there  married  an  Englishwoman,  who  was  taken  from 
him  by  death  a  few  months  later.  A  friend  of  Bun  sen,  whom 
he  followed  to  London  on  his  transfer  to  that  post  in  1841,  and 
whose  views  and  aspirations  in  ecclesiastical  matters  he  shared, 
Abeken  even  at  that  time  devoted  himself  so  far  to  diplomacy 
that  he  drew^  up  a  memorandum  on  the  creation  of  an  evangeli- 
cal bishopric  in  Jerusalem.  This  idea  was  regarded  with  lively 
sympathy  in  the  most  exalted  quarters  in  Berlin,  although,  later 
on,  under  William  I.,  it  would  scarcely  have  occurred  to  any 
one,  or  have  served  as  a  recommendation  for  its  originator.  In 
this  connection  we  meet  Abeken  again  among  those  who  ac- 
companied Professor  Lepsius  on  his  exploring  tour  through 
Upper  Egypt  in  1842,  when  he  also  visited  the  Holy  Land. 
He  entered  the  Foreign  Office  under  Heinrich  von  Arnim,  and 
there  he  remained  until  his  death  in  August,  1872,  notwithstand- 
ing the  important  changes  that  had  occurred  in  the  meantime, 
a  model  of  loyalty  and   attachment,  even   though   his  virtues 


442  COMPROMISING   ACQUAIXTAXCES 

recalled  in  many  ways  those  of  the  venerable  old  furniture  to 
which  I  alluded  just  now. 

The  extracts  from  the  diary  during  the  war  have  already 
given  some  instances  of  the  exceptional  and  occasionally  comic 
attraction  which  everything  connected  with  the  Court  and  other 
princely  circles  seemed  to  exercise  upon  Abeken,  and  the  sul> 
sequent  chapters  will  contain  a  few  more.  In  this  respect  he 
was  the  very  antitype  of  his  colleague  Bucher,  as  also  in  the 
fact  that  he  was  particularly  sociable  and  talkative.  It  was  to 
satisfy  the  longing  which  he  felt  for  intercourse  with  persons 
of  rank  that  he  used  to  frequent  the  circles  which  made  the 
Radziwill  Palace  their  headquarters.  He  was  unable  to  forego 
these  visits  even  when  the  society  that  collected  there  formed 
the  centre  of  the  ultramontane  opposition  to  the  ecclesiastical 
policy  of  the  Chancellor.  Apart  from  such  social  gatherings 
as  the  above,  the  old  gentleman  must  have  felt  himself  most  at 
home  at  the  weekly  meetings  of  the  "  Graeca,'"  a  society  "  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  former  Romans,''  the  rules  of  which  excluded 
all  political  discussions,  its  sole  object  in  addition  to  its  social 
aims  being  of  a  philological  and  aesthetic  character. 

With  regard  to  Abeken's  business  capacity  and  the  limita- 
tions of  his  usefulness  I  would  first  recall  the  circumstance  that 
our  Chief,  at  the  time  when  he  described  Bucher  to  me  as  a 
"  real  pearl,"  is  understood  to  have  spoken  of  Abeken  as  a 
"true  strawchopper "  —  a  comparison  which  is  less  flattering 
than  appropriate.  Unquestionably  Abeken  was  a  very  meri- 
torious worker  in  the  routine  of  the  Foreign  Office,  but  he  was 
by  no  means  such  a  prominent  one  as  many  outsiders  thought. 
Owing  to  his  long  service  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the 
ins  and  outs  of  official  business,  he  had  become  a  virtuoso  in 
red  tape.  Provided  with  an  ample  store  of  phrases  which, 
when  he  received  his  instructions,  ran  from  his  fingers'  ends 
without  much  thinking,  and  with  a  knowledge  of  several  lan- 
guages just  about  sufficient  for  his  task,  it  was  as  if  he  had  been 
si)ccially  created  for  the  purpose  of  putting  into  shape  tlie  ideas 
given  to  him  by  the  Chief  with  the  readiness  of  a  sewing  ma- 
chine. In  addition  to  this  he  was  an  indefatigable  worker,  and 
would  deliver  in  the  course  of  the  day  astonishing  quantities  of 
well-written  documents  for  the  messengers  and  despatch  bags. 
Hut  when   he  had  to  deal  with  (|uestions  of  importance,  he  was 


COUNT   lUSMAKCK-BOlILKX  443 

scarcely  in  a  position  to  draw  for  the  material  upon  his  own 
resources.  It  was  not,  however,  at  all  necessary  that  he  should 
do  so.  The  ready  writer  with  a  good  knowledge  of  traditional 
forms  was  sufficient.  It  was  the  Minister's  genius  and  know- 
ledge of  men  and  things  that  provided  the  substance  for  his 
work,  and  sometimes  also  improved  the  form.  He  is  under- 
stood U)  have  worked  with  more  independence  under  Bismarck's 
predecessor,  and  among  other  things  to  have  drafted  the  treaty 
of  Olmiitz.  I  have  heard  it  asserted  that  he  drew  up  on  his 
own  initiative  documents  of  great  political  importance  under 
the  First  Imperial  Chancellor,  and  prepared  speeches  from  the 
throne  —  but  this  is  a  baseless  legend.  On  many  occasions, 
however,  when  the  Minister  was  out  of  temper  with  the  King, 
Abeken  acted  for  weeks  at  a  time,  entrusted  as  the  mouthpiece 
of  his  Chief,  and,  of  course,  under  instructions  from  the  latter, 
reported  to  his  Majesty  on  current  affairs.  He  also  on  various 
occasions  accompanied  the  monarch,  in  an  official  capacity,  to 
bathing  resorts,  as  for  instance  to  Ems  in  the  early  summer  of 
1870,  where  he  made  himself  useful  during  the  last  days  of  his 
stay  and  earned  the  thanks  of  the  Chancellor.  In  the  adjoin- 
ing salon  his  Excellency  the  Secretary  of  State,  von  Thile,  re- 
ceives the  diplomatists  whom  the  Chancellor  himself  is  unable 
to  see.  He  suddenly  resigned,  if  I  remember  rightly,  on  the 
2nd  of  October,  1872,  and  retired  into  private  life.  I  will,  later 
on,  give  some  particulars  of  the  motives  for  this  step.  He  was 
opposed  to  the  Kultnrkampf,  and  longed  for  the  return  of  the 
peace  of  former  times.  He  was  exceptionally  amiable  as  a 
superior.  For  a  short  time  after  his  retirement  his  position 
was  filled  by  von  Balen,  the  German  Minister  at  the  Belgian 
Court.  A  definite  successor  was  then  appointed  in  the  person 
of  von  Billow  of  Mecklenburg,  who  (I  am  also  writing  for  the 
lay  public)  as  Minister  of  State  and  Excellency,  must  not  be 
confounded  with  his  namesake  mentioned  above.  Count  Bis- 
marck-Bohlen  and  Baron  von  Gundlach  only  put  in  an  appear- 
ance here  occasionally.  The  former,  a  cousin  of  the  Chancellor's, 
was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Dragoon  Guards  and  a  Councillor  of 
Embassy,  and  had  charge  of  all  sorts  of  personal  affairs  of  the 
Chief,  principally  such  as  were  of  little  importance.  He  was 
also  the  medium  for  the  Minister's  communications  with  the 
Literary  Bureau  in  the  Ministry  of  State,  and  with  Stieber,  the 


444  FOREIGN  officl:  discipline 

chief  of  the  I^erhii  detective  force.  Naturally  good-natured 
he  was  addicted  to  bragging,  played  the  heathen  and  the  roud 
on  a  small  scale,  and  indulged  in  jokes  and  puns  which  were 
not  always  bad  ;  but  he  never  carried  weight  with  any  one,  even 
the  Secretaries  upon  whom  he  occasionally  tried  to  shift  some 
of  his  work  shrugging  their  shoulders  at  him.  All  that  is  to  be 
said  of  Gundlach,  a  lean  and  sickly  gentleman,  who  afterwards 
died  at  Lisbon  as  Charge  d' Affaires,  is  that  he  put  in  an  appear- 
ance daily  for  half,  or  sometimes  a  whole,  hour,  glanced  at  the 
Journal  des  Debats,  the  Times,  &c.,  chatted  for  a  while,  coughed 
a  little,  chatted  again,  and  for  these  labours  drew  an  allowance 
of  six  thalers  a  day.  For  some  time  after  the  war  Count 
Wartensleben,  a  young  and  amiable  nobleman,  who  was  pre- 
paring himself  for  the  diplomatic  service,  in  which  he  died  of 
cancer  in  1880,  and  Count  Solms-Sonnenwalde,  who  had  pre- 
viously been  attached  to  the  Embassy  in  Paris,  and  who  after- 
wards acted  as  Minister  first  in  Brazil,  then  in  Dresden,  and 
finally  in  Madrid,^  passed  in  and  out  amongst  us  for  a  time. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  notwithstanding  the 
narrowness  and  discomfort  of  the  Foreign  Office  there  is  plenty 
of  hard  and  good  work  done  there,  particularly  by  Bucher  and 
Abeken.  The  Chancellor  demands  it,  and  gives  a  good  example 
of  it  in  his  own  person.  The  strictest  order  prevails  from  top 
to  bottom,  unconditional  obedience  is  the  rule,  and,  as  is  right 
and  proper,  every  one  obeys  w^ithout  protest  or  contradiction, 
whatever  his  own  opinion  may  be.  At  times  one  or  other  of 
the  distinguished  gentlemen  who  sit  here  kicks  against  the 
pricks,  fancies  he  should  do  a  little  more  or  a  little  less,  argues 
about  some  special  instruction  given  to  him,  gnashing  his  teeth 
and  clenching  his  fist  —  in  his  pocket.  He  prudently  abstains, 
however,  from  giving  expression  to  his  dissatisfaction  otherwise 
than  in  soliloquies  within  the  walls  of  his  own  room.  Every- 
thing downstairs  moves  at  the  bidding  of  one  will,  that  which 
comes  from  upstairs,  and  every  one  works  to  the  best  of  his 
ability.  Whoever  does  not  care  to  work  within  the  broader  or 
narrower  sphere  prescribed  for  him  by  the  genius  who  rules 
here  may  take  himself  off.  Discipline  must  be  maintained, 
and  absolute  subordination,  so  that  every  wheel  of  the  machine 
shall  work  readily  and    promptly  and   in    its   proper  time  and 

'  He  was  subsequently  Ambassador  tu  the  Italian  Court. 


MIXISTKRIAL   DluSl'OTlSM  " 


445 


jihicc.  There  must  be  no  stoppa[;e  caused  by  this  or  that 
individuality.     Acquiescence  is  the  first  and  highest  law. 

Formerly  things  were  different,  but  no  great  harm  was 
done.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  Prussia 
prior  to  Bismarck's  entry  into  office  know  why.  To-day  when 
a  fertile  mind  and  an  energetic  will  preside  here,  and  matters  of 
the  greatest  moment  are  at  stake,  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to 
obey  orders.  The  Councillors  have  no  longer  to  offer  counsel, 
but  simply  to  regard  themselves  as  instruments  of  the  Chan- 
cellor's will,  who,  like  other  instruments.  Charges  d'Affaires, 
Ministers,  and  Ambassadors,  have  to  use  their  knowledge  and 
ability  in  carrying  his  ideas  and  intentions  into  execution. 
Strong  self-consciousness  is  not  compatible  with  the  necessity 
of  maintaining  a  continuous  and  homogeneous  policy. 

This  was  called  "  Ministerial  despotism,"  by  Count  Harry 
Arnim.  I  call  it  the  maintenance  of  an  absolutely  essential 
devotion  to  duty  under  a  great  leader.  Arnim  was  offended  at 
the  expression  made  use  of  on  one  occasion  by  the  Chancellor: 
"My  Ambassadors  must  wheel  round  like  non-commissioned 
officers  at  the  word  of  command  without  knowing  why."  I,  on 
the  contrary,  consider  it  quite  an  excellent  description  of  the 
relations  which  should  always  exist  between  the  leading  spirit 
of  the  Foreign  Office  and  its  branches  at  foreign  Courts, 
especially  when  a  man  of  highly  original  character  and  quite 
exceptional  ideas  and  principles  is  in  charge  of  the  administra- 
tion. With  the  kind  permission  of  the  Excellencies  and  Grand 
Crosses  in  question  I  should  not  have  objected  even  if  in  that 
expression  of  the  Chancellor's  they  had  been  described  as  his 
senior  clerks.  The  more  they  subordinate  to  him  their  own 
views,  tastes,  and  wills,  regarding  themselves  as  his  staff  ser- 
geants, or  clerks,  and  acting  accordingly,  the  better  services 
will  they  render,  and  the  better  will  be  their  work.  If,  in 
addition  thereto,  they  should  prove  to  be  impartial,  clear-sighted 
observers  and  diligent  reporters,  with  a  sense  of  what  is  of  im- 
portance, and  a  distaste  for  phrasemongering  and  smart  writing 
(of  these  attributes,  by  the  way,  the  only  one  with  which  Count 
Arnim  could  be  credited  was  a  desultory  industry),  they  will 
have  done  pretty  well  everything  that  can  be  fairly  expected  of 
them. 

I  ought  now  to  conduct  the  reader  upstairs  under  the  green 


446      THE  CHAXCELLOR'S  ROOMS  AND  THE  GARDEN 

and  gold  cupola  to  the  first  floor  and  there  show  him  the  rooms 
occupied  by  the  Imperial  Chancellor  and  his  family.  I  prefer, 
however,  first  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  park  behind  the  courtyards 
and  the  smaller  outbuildings.  It  is  a  stately  and  pleasant  frag- 
ment of  the  Thiergarten  which  formerly  extended  to  this  spot, 
and  of  which  many  fine  groups  of  beautiful  old  shady  trees  are 
still  preserved  behind  the  Wilhelmstrasse,  where  the  nightingales 
beneath  their  spreading  branches  celebrate  the  budding  spring- 
time and  the  sunrise.  The  long  avenue  which  runs  in  a  straight 
line  tc  the  left,  shaded  by  elm  trees  or  white  beech,  and  which 
finishes  not  far  from  the  further  end  of  the  garden,  narrowing 
more  and  more  in  perspective,  I  always  thought  to  be  specially 
charming  and  indeed  fairy-like.  Exceptionally  beautiful  in  the 
first  days  of  summer  with  the  green  shadows  falling  athwart 
the  branches  in  the  foreground  while  the  far  end  is  bathed  in  a 
soft  green  light,  it  remains  beautiful  even  in  winter,  when  the 
fine  lichens  and  mosses  lend  a  greenish  sheen  to  the  stems  of 
the  trees.  I  believe  the  garden  is  one  of  the  Chancellor's 
favourite  walks,  and  I  hope  that  this,  at  least,  will  be  preserved 
when  the  house  is  pulled  down,  A  further  reason  for  hoping 
so  is  that  many  a  deep  plan  was  thought  out,  and  many  a  de- 
cision of  great  moment  taken  here.  The  Minister  had  often 
strolled  up  and  down  here  at  a  late  hour  of  the  evening  await- 
ing news  from  the  King  at  times  when  important  measures 
were  under  consideration.  Here  on  the  night  of  the  14th  and 
15th  of  June,  in  the  Year  of  Victory,  1866,  the  idea  occurred  to 
him  of  inducing  Moltke  to  order  the  Prussian  forces  to  cross 
the  frontier,  and  thereby  the  Rubicon,  twenty-four  hours  earlier 
than  had  been  originally  intended;  and  here,  in  1870,  about  the 
time  of  the  declaration  of  war,  he  was  to  be  seen  repeatedly 
pacing  up  and  down  that  evergreen  avenue  in  a  meditative 
mood,  swinging  a  big  stick,  and  from  time  to  time  sending 
the  messenger  in  waiting  to  summon  one  of  his  assistants  in 
order  to  give  instructions  for  despatches,  telegrams,  or  news- 
paper articles. 

Returning  from  the  garden  behind  No.  "j^  Wilhelmstrasse, 
we  observe  that  the  two  wings  in  which  the  house  ends  at  this 
side  contain  only  work  rooms,  servants'  apartments,  stables, 
&c.,  and  that  the  courtyard  between  them  is  shaded  by  a  broad- 
branched  nut-tree. 


TlIK    DKAWING-ROOM  447 

Proceeding  uj)  the  stairs  behind  the  screen  in  the  main 
building,  and  passing  through  the  glass  door  at  the  toj),  we 
enter  a  small  antechamber.  When  the  Chancellor  is  in  Berlin, 
servants  in  livery  and  Chancery  attendants  in  black  swallow- 
tail coats  await  here  the  arrival  of  visitors  and  of  those  who  arc 
to  be  received  in  audience,  or  have  to  make  verbal  reports  to 
the  Chancellor.  A  door  to  the  left  leads  into  a  second  small 
antechamber,  while  another  to  the  right  brings  us  into  a  large 
oval  drawing-room,  which  extends  almost  throughout  the  entire 
dej)th  of  the  building.  We  are  told  that  this  was  once  the  ball- 
room of  the  Minister  Alopeaus,  while  it  now  serves  as  a  dining- 
room  when  big  dinners  are  given,  and  for  the  buffets  at  the 
well-known  Parliamentary  evenings.-^ 

From  this  room  we  pass  into  a  somewhat  smaller  one,  the 
four  windows  of  which  open  on  to  the  Wilhclmstrasse.  .  .  . 
The  whole  room  leaves  a  bright  and  pleasant  impression.  It  is 
elegant,  but  by  no  means  sumptuous,  and  indeed  might  be  de- 
scribed as  comparatively  simple.  The  lack  of  pictures,  and  the 
entirely  white  ceiling,  gives  it  a  certain  emptiness  and  loneli- 
ness, while  the  old-fashioned  arrangements  for  lighting  it  are 
not  quite  in  harmony  with  the  remainder  of  the  apartment.  In 
this  respect,  also,  the  Chancellor  is  more  unassuming  and  in- 
different to  luxury  and  elegance  than  his  colleagues  of  the 
diplomatic  world.  Not  to  speak  of  those  who  live  nearer  home, 
let  us  imagine  how  the  French  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs 
would  have  his  residence  furnished  by  the  State ! 

This  drawing-room  is  used  for  receptions,  but  sometimes  the 
Chancellor  also  dines  here  with  his  family.  This  reminds  me 
of  a  characteristic  remark  of  his.  On  the  6th  of  April,  1878, 
I  had  the  honour  to  be  invited  to  dine  with  him.  Having  in 
the  course  of  the  conversation  referred  to  himself  as  an  "  old 
man,"  the  Princess  remonstrated:  "Why,  you  are  only  sixty- 
three!"  He  replied:  "Yes,  but  I  have  always  lived  at  high 
pressure,  and  paid  hard  cash  for  everything."  {Ja,  abcr  ich 
habe  ivinicr  scJincll  nnd  baar  gelebt.)  Then,  turning  to  me,  he 
added:  "Hard  cash  —  that  means  that  I  have  always  put  my 
whole  heart  into  my  w^ork:  I  have  paid  with  my  strength  and 
my  health   for  whatever   has  been   achieved."      The   German 

1  In  the  late  autumn  of  1878  I  found  the  library  of  the  Foreign  Office  installed 
here. 


448  THE  CIIL\ESE   SALON 

people  should  be  grateful  to  him  for  this,  instead  of  allowing 
themselves  to  be  represented  in  the  Reichstag  by  men  who  in 
their  vanity  and  self-will  vie  with  each  other  in  ingratitude. 

The  Chinese  Salon  is  about  twenty-two  paces  in  length  by 
twelve  in  breadth,  and  has  three  folding  doors.  One  of  these 
opens  into  the  dining-room,  another  into  the  second  ante- 
chamber mentioned  above,  and  the  third  into  the  billiard-room, 
which  also  looks  out  on  the  Wilhelmstrasse.  The  latter  is  of 
the  same  depth  as  the  room  just  described,  and  is  about  three 
paces  less  in  length.  This  room  is  full  of  historic  memories, 
the  spirit  of  decisive  conferences.  The  decisive  interview 
with  the  "Duke  of  Schleswig-Holstein "  took  place  here  in 
1864,  at  which  he,  with  his  tenacious  self-seeking  and  narrow- 
mindedness,  suddenly  found  himself  transformed  into  a  modest 
"  Hereditary  Prince  of  Augustenburg."  In  the  last  month  pre- 
ceding the  war  of  1866  the  walls  of  this  chamber  listened  to  a 
fateful  exchange  of  views  between  Herr  von  Bismarck  and  the 
Austrian  Minister.  Some  time  afterwards  Prince  Napoleon 
was  received  here;  and  in  the  spring  of  1870  the  slight  figure 
of  Benedetti  might  be  observed  waiting  in  this  room  for  the 
Minister  with  whom  he  was  to  enter  into  negotiations. 

If  we  now  pass  through  the  folding  doors  which  open  oppo- 
site those  leading  into  the  Chinese  Salon,  we  find  ourselves  in  the 
Chancellor's  study,  a  room  about  eleven  paces  long  by  ten  broad. 

There  is  no  lack  of  pictures  in  this  room.  If  we  turn  to  the 
wall  on  the  right  of  the  door  through  which  we  have  entered 
we  observe  over  a  sofa  covered  in  dark  red  woollen  stuff,  a 
number  of  portraits  in  gilt  frames.  The  uppermost  of  these 
is  a  portrait,  either  lithographed  or  in  crayon,  of  the  pjnperor 
in  plain  clothes,  then  that  of  his  sister,  the  Grand  Duchess 
of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin,  and  two  small  photographs  of  the 
Emperor  in  the  uniform  of  a  general.  In  front  of  this  sofa 
there  lay  in  1870  the  skin  of  a  white  lioness,  in  whose  head 
gleamed  two  bright  glass  eyes.  On  the  next  wall,  not  far  from 
the  sofa,  we  find,  again  in  a  gilt  frame,  the  portrait  of  the  King 
of  liavaria  in  the  dress  of  a  civilian  ;  and  under  this,  framed  in 
black,  is  a  small  water-colour  portrait  of  the  King  of  Italy,  as  a 
permanent  guest  in  the  Chancellor's  room.  This  picture  has 
an  interesting  history,  which  will  be  given  in  a  subsequent 
cha})ter  on  the  Prince's  own  authority.     Victor  iMumanuel,  who 


THE   PICTURES  449 

is  represented  in  uniform,  has  written  a  dedication  under  it. 
Then  follows  a  small  mahogany  table  with  books,  a  carved 
tobacco  chest,  a  white  earthenware  stove  and  a  fireplace,  to- 
gether with  a  narrow  door,  papered  over.  Turning  towards 
the  third  door  we  observe  in  a  corner  a  carved  pipe-rack,  in 
which  are  a  number  of  cherry-stick  and  jasmin  stems  and  thick 
unmounted  meerschaum  heads,  without  mounts.  Next  to  these 
is  a  cupboard  with  a  mirror,  and  resting  against  it  the  full- 
length  portrait  of  a  lady,  in  a  carved  oak  frame.  This  is  the 
consort  of  Prince  Charles,  who  died  a  few  years  ago.  Behind 
this  hang  a  plaster  medallion,  in  a  black  frame,  giving  the  bust 
of  Moltke  in  profile,  and  above  it  the  Great  Elector  and  the 
Only  Frederick  look  down  upon  us  in  life-size  lithograph  half- 
length  portraits  framed  in  gold.  Further  on  we  find  a  standing 
desk  with  maps,  which,  like  all  the  furniture  in  this  room,  is 
made  of  mahogany,  and  a  photograph  of  Princess  Bismarck, 
also  in  a  gilt  frame.  Near  this  a  second  papered  door  leads  into 
the  Chancellor's  bedroom.  On  the  wall  to  the  left  of  the  door 
through  which  we  entered  is  the  only  oil  painting  in  the  room, 
a  life-size  portrait,  in  an  oval  gilt  frame,  of  the  Prince's  daugh- 
ter, in  a  ball  dress.  Beneath  it  on  a  cylinder  desk  stand  a  deer 
and  a  wild  boar  in  cast  iron,  and  a  thermometer  in  the  form  of 
an  advertisement  pillar,  and  on  a  smaller  adjoining  table  lies  a 
collection  of  gloves  and  white  and  red  military  caps. 

The  Minister's  writing-table,  which  our  descendants  will 
doubtless  find  in  some  historical  museum,  occupies  nearly  the 
middle  of  the  room.  It  is  about  two  and  a  half  metres  long  by 
two  in  width,  and  is  so  placed  that  the  person  sitting  at  it  has 
his  face  turned  towards  the  wall  with  the  oil  painting  which  I 
have  just  described.  Over  it  hangs  a  red  woollen  bell  pull, 
which  many  a  time  and  oft  has  called  the  Chancery  attend- 
ant before  the  door,  in  order  to  summon  me  to  make  my  appear- 
ance before  the  Chief.  On  such  occasions  one  hurried  upstairs 
instantly,  leaving  everything  just  as  it  happened  to  lie,  stood 
before  the  Chief  at  attention  like  a  lieutenant  before  his  general, 
all  ear  and  memory,  and  then  rushed  off  again  to  his  place  to 
commit  the  orders  received  to  paper  as  speedily  as  possible.  It 
was  not  permissible  to  misunderstand  ;  and  questions  as  to  what 
had  been  said  were,  for  the  most  part,  also  excluded,  while  the 
suggestion  that  something  could  not  be  done  met  with  an  angry 


450  so.Mi'.  ];l)oks  of  reference 

retort.  It  had  to  be  done,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  was  done  in 
most  cases.  A  severe  school,  but  he  who  would  enjoy  the 
honour  of  having  direct  intercourse  with  a  great  man,  of  serving 
him  and  his  country,  and  of  learning  from  him,  must  be  able  to 
overlook  a  certain  hardness  in  his  nature.  In  the  present  in- 
stance this  was  all  the  easier,  as  the  Chancellor  never  bore  a 
grudge,  and  could  be  most  amiable  when  off  duty.  Moreover, 
others,  and  some  of  very  high  position,  fared  no  better.  "  I  am 
always  frightened  when  I  am  obliged  to  go  up  to  him,"  said  his 
Excellency  von  Thile  to  me  one  evening. 

Alongside  the  writing-desk  and  its  belongings  stand  two 
chairs  covered  like  the  sofa,  in  one  of  which  the  Prince  is  accus- 
tomed to  sit  on  the  appearance  of  a  visitor,  while  he  invites  his 
guest  to  occupy  the  other.  At  work  he  uses  the  oak  armchair, 
with  a  low  open  back,  which  stands  behind  the  writing-table. 
On  his  right-hand  side  is  an  c^tagcrc,  upon  the  top  of  which  rests 
the  bronze  figure  of  a  greyhound,  and  some  writing  paper  and 
envelopes,  lower  down  some  leather  portfolios  w'ith  documents, 
and  quite  at  the  bottom  four  or  five  thick  folio  volumes.  On 
the  left  of  the  writer  is  another  stand,  with  some  handbooks. 
On  a  visit  which  I  paid  to  the  room  in  1873,  I  found  among 
these  books  the  thick  volumes  of  the  "  List  of  Orders  "  from 
1862  to  1868,  a  number  of  Petermann's  "  Mittheilungen," 
IMartcn's  "  Guide  Diplomatique,"  a  collection  of  Hymns, 
"  H\-mnarium,  Blucthen  lateinischer-Kirchenpoesie "  (Halle, 
1868),  Gottfried  Cohn's  "Constitution  and  Procedure  of  the 
British  Parliament,"  Joel's  "  Lessons  in  the  Russian  Language 
according  to  Ollendorff's  System,"  and  Schmidt's  "Small  Rus- 
sian and  German  Dictionary."  On  the  green  baize  cover  of 
the  writing-table  usually  lies  a  fold  of  red  blotting  paper  on 
which  the  Chancellor  writes.  To  the  right  of  this  under  a  glass 
shade  we  notice  a  gilt  clock,  on  which  a  painter  in  Sj^anish  cos- 
tume sits  with  a  pencil  and  drawing  board.  We  also  observe 
on  the  green  cloth  a  plain  white  porcelain  writing-stand  with  a 
little  gilding,  four  or  five  lead  pencils  of  the  largest  variety,  such 
as  the  Minister  now  principally  uses,  and  half  a  dozen  quill  pens 
with  the  feathers  cut  short,  which  are  prepared  by  the  artistic 
hand  of  Hofrath  Willisch,  one  of  the  decipherers,  a  paper  knife, 
a  seal,  a  couj^le  of  sticks  of  sealing  wax,  and  a  candlestick  with 
two  candles. 


A    li:\V    KMCKKNACKS  45  I 

In  1873  various  addiliotis  were  made:  a  paperweif^ht,  with 
a  piece  ot  the  lainous  colossal  zinc  lion  that  stood  up  to  1 864  in 
tlie  churchyard  of  Mensl)ur<;  as  a  monument  of  the  Danish  vic- 
tory at  Idstedt,  and  which  has  now  been  added  to  the  trophies 
in  the  Jkrlin  Zeu[;haus,  and  two  other  paper-weights  made  of 
thick  metal  discs,  one  of  which  had  been  cast  from  an  Austrian 
cannon  captured  in  1866,  and  the  second  from  one  of  the 
French  cannon  taken  in  1870;  a  pen-wiper  in  black,  red,  and 
white;  two  columnar  cigar-cutters;  an  ash-tray,  in  the  form  of 
a  large  iiower  like  a  tulip,  which,  together  with  the  two  objects 
last  mentioned,  have  now  been  removed,  as  the  Prince  has 
given  up  smoking  for  several  years  past  on  account  of  his 
health.  Besides  these,  some  okl  Roman  bronze  lamps  with 
handles  formed  of  green  serpents,  a  terra-cotta  pot  with  the 
figures  of  Massinissa  and  Sophonisba;  and  finally,  at  that  time, 
a  few  books  lay  on  the  table:  the  red  bound  "Army  List," 
Hirth's  "  Parlaments-ahnanach,"  the  Gotha  handbooks,  a  rail- 
way guide,  and  Henry  Wheaton's  "  Commentaire  du  Droit 
international." 

What  tales  could  be  told  by  that  writing-table  if  it  had 
understanding,  memory,  and  speech  !  What  secrets,  what  men- 
tal struggles,  what  inspiration  and  illumination,  what  slow 
development  of  ideas,  what  sudden  energetic  decisions ;  what 
prayers,  perhaps,  may  those  pictures  on  the  walls  have  wit- 
nessed !  How  the  eyes  of  old  Fritz  and  of  the  Great  Elector 
must  have  gleamed  when  they  looked  over  the  writer's  shoulder 
as  he  drafted  bold  and  far-reaching  measures  which  were  to 
recast  the  German  world,  and  with  it  the  entire  relations  of 
Europe ! 

The  creative  mind  that  ruled  here  has  departed,  never  to 
return.  To-day  perhaps  some  unimportant  but  pretentious 
Herr  von  So-and-So,  the  possessor  of  three  high-sounding  titles 
and  three  times  three  exalted  orders,  makes  himself  at  home  in 
his  old  workshop,  for  this  part  of  the  house  has  also  been 
altered,  and  what  was  formerly  on  the  ground  floor  has  now 
been  shifted  upstairs.  In  our  thoughts,  how^ever,  he  still  oc- 
cupies his  old  place.  The  Minister  is  now  far  away,  but,  as  we 
feel,  only  for  a  time.  We,  at  any  rate,  feel  his  invisible  pres- 
ence. We  cannot  picture  to  ourselves  this  historic  chamber 
without  thinking  of  him  as  its  occupant.     We  pass  through  it 


452  THE   BEDCHAMBER 

silently,  and  hold  our  breath  as  if  we  might  disturb  him.  We 
seem  to  be  standing  within  sacred  precincts.  And  these  must 
be  the  feelings  of  every  one,  even  after  years  and  tens  of  years, 
who  brings  with  him  a  sense  of  greatness  and  of  hero-worship. 
The  house  will  one  day  disappear,  and  with  it  this  chamber. 
Otherwise  the  visitor  who  might  come  here  a  hundred  years 
hence  would  be  still  more  deeply  impressed  than  we  are  to-day, 
and  an  inner  voice  would  whisper  to  him,  "  Hush,  this  place  is 
sacred  ground !  " 

Continuing  our  tour  of  inspection  through  the  front  rooms, 
which  were  occupied  by  Prince  Bismarck  up  to  1878,  we  pass 
through  the  papered  door  into  the  bedchamber.  Here  the 
walls  are  covered  with  a  white  paper.  There  is  but  one  win- 
dow with  two  curtains,  one  white  and  the  other  of  woollen  stuff, 
with  a  black  and  red  arabesque  pattern.  The  bed  is  shut  in  by 
a  screen  covered  with  red  cloth,  and  on  an  adjoining  shelf  stand 
some  cloth  slippers  and  a  pair  of  huge  wooden  shoes,  with  the 
colours  of  the  Empire  painted  across  the  instep,  a  present  from 
a  simple-minded  but  skilful  and  patriotic  patten-maker.  A 
sofa  in  green  stuff  stands  against  the  wall  opposite  the  bed,  and 
near  it  a  table  and  a  couple  of  cushioned  armchairs.  An  old 
woodcut  over  the  sofa,  representing  two  knights  with  horses  and 
hounds,  and  a  white  earthenware  stove  complete  the  fittings  of 
the  chamber. 

As  we  return  to  the  study  previous  to  paying  a  short  visit 
to  the  back  rooms  of  the  residence,  we  may  recall  the  circum- 
stance that  in  1873  a  large  portrait  of  General  Grant,  in  a  hand- 
some carved  oak  frame,  rested  on  a  chair  near  the  sofa  in  the 
former  chamber,  doubtless  an  indication  of  the  Prince's  liking 
for  Americans.  Their  substantial  qualities,  their  practical  char- 
acter, which,  however,  neither  excludes  idealism  nor  the  power 
of  self-sacrifice  in  its  pursuit,  their  youthful  audacity  combined 
with  far-seeing  shrewdness  in  all  their  public  and  private  under- 
takings, inspired  the  Prince  with  a  hearty  admiration,  to  which 
he  frequently  gave  expression  in  my  presence. 

Of  the  rooms  at  the  back  of  the  house,  the  windows  of  which 
open  on  the  courtyard  with  its  nut-tree  and  on  the  garden,  we 
need  only  inspect,  and  quite  cursorily,  those  in  the  main  build- 
ing. W'c  enter  first  of  all  a  small  sitting-room  used  by  the 
Princess,  in  which  liangs  an  excellent  jdcture  oi   Hismarck  in 


AN    HISTORICAL  TABLE  453 

his  Frankfort  days  ;  and  then  wc  pass  into  a  larger  room  be- 
hind the  billiard-room,  which  contains  some  oil  j^aintings  of  the 
Prince's  ancestors,  amongst  others  his  grandfather,  to  whom  as 
a  youth  he  is  said  to  have  borne  a  striking  resemblance. 

The  most  interesting  piece  of  furniture  is  a  small  mahogany 
table,  which  conveys  a  faint  echo  of  the  historic  deeds  and 
events  that  fill  the  stillness  of  the  front  rooms  into  the  cosy 
comfort  of  these  family  apartments.  We  read  on  a  metal  plate 
that  has  been  inserted  into  it :  "  The  Preliminary  Treaty  of 
Peace  between  Germany  and  France  was  signed  upon  this  table 
on  the  26th  of  February,  1871,  at  No.  14  Rue  de  Provence, 
Versailles."  I  may  add  that  the  gold  pen  set  with  diamonds 
which  the  Chancellor  received  for  the  purpose  from  one  of  his 
admirers  in  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden  was  really  used  in  sign- 
ing this  instrument.  If  I  am  not  mistaken  the  Treaty  with  Ba- 
varia, which  was  the  keystone  in  the  building  of  the  German 
Empire,  was  not  signed  upon  this  table.  Of  course  the  owner 
of  this  otherwise  comparatively  worthless  piece  of  furniture,  to 
which  the  Chancellor  had  thus  given  value  and  importance,  was 
provided  with  an  exactly  similar  article. 

Adjoining  the  tea-room  is  the  chamber  in  which  the  Prince 
is  accustomed  to  take  lunch,  and  where  the  family  also  occasion- 
ally dines.  It  lies  behind  one  half  of  the  Chinese  Salon,  and 
like  the  latter  is  furnished  with  a  Turkish  carpet,  red-cushioned 
chairs  and  gilt  mirrors,  and  decorated  with  a  few  oil  paintings, 
including  a  picture  of  Frederick  the  Great  and  a  portrait  of 
Frederick  William  III.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  rooms 
just  described  play  a  not  unimportant  part  in  the  orders  of  the 
day  for  the  official  world  below. 

Towards  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  sometimes  later,  seldom 
earlier,  one  of  the  Chancery  attendants  comes  into  the  Central 
Bureau  and  calls  out,  "The  Prince  is  in  the  breakfast-room." 
That  is  the  reveille,  the  first  signal  for  action  of  the  Chancellor's 
little  army  of  assistants,  to  whom  the  departmental  secretaries 
now  hand  all  the  despatches  and  documents  received  for  him 
through  the  post  or  otherwise.  Some  time  afterwards  the 
second  signal  follows:  "The  Chancellor  is  in  the  study"  —  a 
sign  that  the  higher  officials  who  have  communications  to  make 
may  report  themselves  to  the  Chief,  and  that  the  others  should 
hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  be  summoned  to  him. 


454  ^    DAY'S    WORK 

Finally,  in  busy  seasons  late  at  night,  as  a  general  rule  about 
lo  P.M.,  those  who  have  been  kept  at  their  desks  by  their  work 
(while  the  Chancellor  is  in  Berlin  the  faithful  Lothar  Bucher 
is  always  amongst  the  last  of  these)  hear  the  retreat  sounded : 
"The  Chancellor  is  in  the  tea-room."  That  puts  an  end  to  the 
day's  work,  or  to  the  obligation  of  sitting  booted  and  spurred, 
awaiting  orders.  The  workers  put  on  their  hats  and  leave,  the 
shutters  are  closed,  and  the  Chancery  servant  puts  out  the 
li^rhts. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

FROM  OUR  RETURN  FROM  THE  WAR  UP  TO  THE  TEMPORARY 
DISCONTINUANXE  OF  MV  PERSONAL  INTERCOURSE  WITH  THE 
CHANCELLOR  —  GLIMPSES  OF  THE  DIPLOMATIC  WORLD  • — 
COMMISSIONS    FOR    THE    PRESS 

After  a  few  days'  rest  wc  returned  again  to  our  former  work 
at  the  office,  accustoming  ourselves  to  it  once  more,  so  that 
everything  fell  again  into  the  old  groove.  The  only  difference 
for  me  was  that  I  continued  to  enjoy  the  privilege  accorded  to 
me  at  Versailles,  of  access  to  all  documents  of  a  political 
character  received  by  or  despatched  from  the  Foreign  Office. 
Some  of  these  were  entrusted  to  my  diary  in  the  form  of  short 
summaries,  or  longer  notices,  together  with  many  of  my  ex- 
periences and  observations  of  that  period,  and  an  anthology  of 
the  tasks  set  to  me  by  the  Chief,  which,  as  formerly,  I  noted 
down  at  once  for  future  use.  And  now  these  faded  leaves  may 
themselves  speak. 

March  2\th,  1871.  —  To-day,  as  also  during  the  last  few 
days,  read  old  and  recent  despatches  and  other  correspondence. 
It  is  reported  from  Vienna  that  Beust  has  been  "  much  affected  " 
by  the  telegrams  exchanged  by  the  Emperors  William  and  Alex- 
ander, as  from  these  it  would  appear  as  if  the  forbearance  shown 
by  the  Austrians  up  to  the  last  hour  were  not  voluntary.  A 
wire  has  been  sent  informing  him  that  the  telegram  of  the  Ger- 
man Emperor  was  a  purely  personal  act,  and  was  despatched 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  Minister.  M.  in  Cassel  reported 
that  Madame  Guisolphe  from  Versailles  had  been  with  Napoleon 
at  Wilhelmshohe ;  further,  that  Count  Clary,  passing  as  a  M. 
Bertram,  had,  shortly  before  our  departure,  twice  visited  Ver- 
sailles at  the  instance  of  the  ex-Emperor,  and  then  returned  to 
Wilhelmshohe ;  and  finally,  that  Count  Meulan  had  also  been 
there  on  a  visit,  and  that  his  communications  appeared  to  afford 
Napoleon  great    satisfaction.     Horace    Rumbold,  the    English 

455 


456  THE   GRAND    DUKE   OF   WEIMAR  [Ai'KIL  io 

Charge  d'Affaires  at  St.  Petersburg,  is  stated,  in  a  report  from 
that  capital,  to  be  vehemently  hostile  to  Prussia  as  well  as  to 
Russia.  According  to  a  despatch  sent  to  Bernstorff  on  the 
17th  of  March,  in  which  a  desire  is  expressed  that  Loftus 
should  be  recalled,  the  latter  had  declared  that  England  forbade 
the  bombardment  of  Paris,  and  would  know  how  to  prevent  it 
through  the  influence  of  the  Crown  Princess.  A  communica- 
tion from  Stockholm  states  that  the  King  of  Sweden  had  also 
written  to  General  Brincourt  of  the  French  Guards,  who  had 
formerly  been  in  Metz,  and  was  there  made  prisoner  by  the 
Germans,  a  letter  in  which  he  expressed  sentiments  of  a 
strongly  anti-German  character. 

March  2C)th. — A  letter  from  St.  Petersburg  reports  that 
Oubril  has  been  selected  for  the  Russian  Embassy  in  Paris, 
and  that  the  Grand  Duchess  Helene  wishes  him  to  be  succeeded 
in  Berlin  by  Walujeff,  and  not  by  the  francophil  Albedinski  — 
also  not  by  Orloff,  who  is  very  sensitive,  and  whose  policy  is 
governed  by  the  treatment  which  he  receives.  The  Emperor 
Alexander  will  nominate  Walujeff  if  the  Emperor  William  de- 
sires it,  and  she,  the  Grand  Duchess,  is  prepared  to  communi- 
cate his  wishes.  Field  Marshal  von  Berg,  of  Warsaw,  is 
understood  to  be  very  well  affected  towards  us. 

April  y til.  —  Bucher  told  me  this  evening  that  "the  vener- 
able "  Abeken  drafted  the  Treaty  of  Olmiitz,  which  is  hardly 
calculated  to  add  to  our  respect  for  the  Herr  Geheimrath,  who 
passed  through  the  room  at  the  time,  whistling  as  he  went. 

April  ^tJi.  —  It  is  reported  from  Weimar,  with  "satisfaction 
and  pleasure,"  that  for  some  time  past  there  has  been  a  marked 
change  for  the  better  in  the  political  sentiments  of  the  Grand 
Duke.  "  While  his  Royal  Highness  has  never  spoken  to  the 
writer  on  political  subjects  since  the  spring  of  1866,  and  always 
carefully  avoided  touching  upon  them  even  at  the  most  decisive 
moments,  turning  the  conversation  to  private  matters,  he  recently 
at  a  Court  concert  spoke  to  the  writer  on  the  internal  affairs  of 
the  German  limpire,  and  expressed  his  warm  approval  of  the 
first  parliamentary  speech  made  by  the  Chancellor  against  the 
Ultramontancs.  The  report  continues :  The  Grand  Duke  re- 
turned to  the  same  subject  yesterday  at  dinner,  and  spoke  in 
high  praise  of  the  Chancellor,  whom  he  had  desired  to  thank 
persona]])'  the  last  time  he  was  in   lierlin,  but  had  been   unable 


1871 J  savk;ny  457 

to  find  :it  home.  The  communication  concludes  as  follows : 
"  It  is  to  be  iioped  that  the  ice  is  now  broken,  and  that  our 
relations  with  the  Grand  Duke  will  improve." 

It  was  probably  on  one  of  the  immediately  preceding  or  fol- 
lowing days  of  April  that  the  Chief  gave  me  the  ideas  for  an 
article  for  the  press  which  I  here  reproduce :  "  On  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Centre  Party,  in  which  Savigny  rendered  considera- 
ble assistance,  the  public  was  inclined  to  believe  that  the  latter, 
who  had  been  a  Government  official  up  to  1866,  wished  to  con- 
tinue to  support  the  Government.  In  this  view,  however,  the 
change  which  had  taken  place  in  his  attitude  was  overlooked. 
After  the  first  draft  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederation 
he  was  thought  of  for  the  post  of  Chancellor  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, which,  however,  would  then  practically  have  had  only  the 
importance  of  a  Presiding  Minister,  such  as  the  Austrian  rep- 
resentative had  formerly  been  at  Frankfort.  But  the  Diet 
amended  the  Constitution  so  as  to  make  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Confederation  a  responsible  Minister,  and  the  position  became 
entirely  different.  It  gave  the  Chancellor  complete  control  of 
the  affairs  and  policy  of  the  Confederation,  and  it  had  never 
been  the  intention  of  the  King  to  appoint  Herr  von  Savigny  to 
such  a  post.  To  the  latter,  however,  this  was  a  severe  disappoint- 
ment, aggravated  further  by  physical  discomforts,  the  worst  of 
which  was  the  necessity  of  again  removing  from  the  apart- 
ments in  the  Chancellerie  of  the  Confederation,  which  he  had 
already  occupied  and  had  arranged  very  comfortably." 

April  loth.  —  Wollmann  told  me  to-day  that  recently  an 
indignant  communication  with  documentary  enclosures  had  been 

received  from  Fabrice,  reporting  that ,  who  had  been  acting 

as  Prefect  in  a  French  provincial  town,  had  been  found  guilty 
of  serious  misbehaviour.  Fabrice  had  for  a  long  time  regarded 
him  as  unfit  for  the  post.  Now,  on  his  departure,  however,  he 
was  found  in  possession  of  4i,(DOO  francs,  which  he  had  con- 
cealed in  some  old  clothes,  together  with  a  number  of  silk  cur- 
tains and  chair  covers,  with  which  he  wished  to  pack  his  boxes 
on  leaving.  Finally,  when  receiving  money  from  the  French, 
he  allowed  the  latter  less  than  3  francs  75  centimes  for  the 
thaler,  which  was  the  rate  at  which  he  paid  it  over  to  the  Treas- 
ury, and  put  the  difference  into  his  own  pocket.  Hardly  credi- 
ble, yet  W.  says  that  he  has  himself  seen  the  General's  letter. 


458  THH   SKCOND   SIKGE  OF   PARIS  i\vKU.  17 

ApHl  \\tJi. — The  Chief  wishes  to  have  the  sensational 
stories  pubHshed  \)y  the  Avenir  dc  Loire  ct  Cher  and  the  Revue 
des  Deux  Moudes  contradicted  in  the  press,  and  the  real  facts 
related  —  but  "not  in  the  Berlin  papers."  According  to  these 
romancers,  we  took  away  with  us  the  silver  and  table  linen  from 
Madame  Jesse's  house,  and  the  Chancellor  tried  to  extort  a 
valuable  clock  from  the  poor  oppressed  lady.  The  Minister 
at  the  same  time  gave  me  the  necessary  particulars.  The 
article  appeared  in  the  Kobiisclie  Zcitnng  of  the  i8th  of  April. 

April  i6t/i.  —  Wrote  the  following  article  for  the  KdlniscJie 
Zeitun{^,  on  information  received  from  the  Chief  :  "  Is  there 
not  a  proverb  to  the  effect,  What  is  sauce  for  the  goose  is 
sauce  also  for  the  gander .-'  For  some  considerable  time  past, 
the  west  end  of  Paris  has  been  bombarded,  and,  indeed, 
without  previous  notice.  A  hail  of  shells  has  fallen  on  the 
Turkish  Legation,  and  there  has  been  a  similar  downpour  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  American  Legation,  so  that  Mr. 
Washburne  found  himself  obliged  to  remove  to  another  part  of 
the  city.  That  is  done  on  behalf  of  a  government  to  whom 
these  diplomatists  are  accredited,  yet,  lo  and  behold,  they  make 
no  complaint.  Nor  apparently  do  any  of  their  colleagues.  If 
we  Germans  had  no  meniory,  we  should  consider  this  silent 
resignation  quite  proper,  as  no  one  who  takes  up  his  residence 
in  a  fortress  is  justified  in  protesting  if  he  has  to  share  its  fate, 
a  rule  which  applies  to  diplomatists  as  well  as  to  all  other 
mortals.  But,  having  a  memory,  we  may  be  permitted  to  ask 
why  did  the  diplomats  residing  in  Paris  shriek  and  ]:)rotest  so 
loudly  against  our  bombshells,  when  the  majority  of  those 
gentlemen  were  no  longer  accredited  to  any  one,  and  therefore 
had  no  official  character.  We  refer  to  the  declaration  of  eight- 
een foreign  Ministers,  Charges  d'Affaires,  and  Consuls  General, 
dated  the  13th  of  January,  in  the  present  year,  denouncing  the 
bomliardment  of  Paris  by  the  German  Army,  and  complaining 
that  the  citizens  of  neutral  States  were  being  wounded  and 
exj)f)sed  to  constant  danger.  It  was  further  urged  that  the 
bombardment  had  been  begun  without  previous  notice,  thus 
depriving  the  diplomats  in  question  of  the  opportunity  of  warn- 
ing their //v //if /i".  Feeling  their  responsibility,  they  joined  in 
a  resolution,  which  was  unanimously  adopted,  in  which  they 
referred  to  the  principles    and   usages  of   international   law  in 


iSji]  y\li:   OLD    AND    TIIK    NKW    DIPLOMACY  459 

sup]")()rt  of  their  dcniaiul  that  nicasiiros  should  be  taken  to 
enable  them  to  brin;^  the  persons  and  i)ro])erty  ot  their  eoun- 
trymen  into  a  place  of  safety.  Nothing  whatever  of  this  kind 
has  taken  place  now.  Shall  we  try  to  solve  the  riddle  by  as- 
suming; that  personal  partisanshij)  was  the  motive  of  the  com- 
plaint, partisanship  aj^ainst  Germany  and  for  I'Vancc  .'' "  —  I 
then  cpioted  the  najiies  of  the  diplomats  who  had  formerly 
protested  and  were  now  silent. 

April  17///. —  The  Chancellor  wishes  to  have  the  following; 
inserted  in  the  Krcnzzcitn}ig,  with  reference  to  an  article  in  the 
Standard,  as  reproduced  by  the  Natio)ial  Zcitutii^ :  "The 
rumour  as  to  a  desire  being  felt  here  in  Berlin  that  France  and 
luigiand  should  no  longer  be  represented  in  the  capital  of  the 
German  Empire  by  Ambassadors,  but  only  by  simple  Minis- 
ters, has  afforded  the  Standard  an  opportunity  of  arguing  in 
favour  of  such  an  alteration,  as  it  ascribes  the  existing  usage 
mainly  to  the  love  of  pomp  and  magnificence  peculiar  to  the 
Second  Empire.  We  do  not  know  what  truth  there  is  in  the 
rumour  in  question,  but  the  grounds  which  lead  the  English 
newspaper  to  regard  it  as  probable  seem  to  us  very  far  fetched. 
Another  consideration,  however,  lies  much  nearer  to  hand, 
namely,  whether  the  old  diplomacy,  with  its  formalities  and 
struggles  for  precedence,  which  have  delayed  many  a  congress 
for  weeks,  can  under  any  circumstances  maintain  its  position  at 
the  present  stage  of  development  of  international  intercourse. 
A  speed  is  now  required  in  the  transaction  of  business  which 
was  not  dreamt  of  in  former  times,  and  railways  and  telegraphs 
furnish  the  means  of  achieving  it.  The  prerogative  which  is 
put  forward  in  support  of  the  maintenance  of  Ambassadors, 
namely,  their  personal  access  to  the  Sovereign,  is  to  our  think- 
ing largely  outbalanced  by  the  mediasval  pretensions  in  the 
matter  of  precedence,  which  a  diplomatic  representative  cannot 
forego  so  long  as  he  bears  the  title  of  Ambassador,  but  which 
nevertheless  render  him  anything  but  welcome  at  the  Court  to 
which  he  is  accredited,  to  his  colleagues,  and  to  the  Government 
of  the  country." 

April  i8t/i.  —  Bucher  brings  me  down  the  following  sketch 
for  an  article  for  Btrss  (iVorddeutsc/ic  Allgcnieinc  Zcitnng):  — 
"  Revolutions  usually  proceed  too  slowly  for  the  taste  of  the 
revolutionaries.     Their    aspirations    fly  far   in   advance  of    the 


460  COQUETTING   WITH   THE   REDS  [April  18 

sluggish  reality,  and  many  a  soldier  of  liberty  has  already  had 
to  console  himself  with  Lessing's  observ^ation,  according  to  which 
there  have  been  at  all  times  men  who  had  a  just  idea  as  to  the 
future  of  the  human  race,  but  who  made  the  mistake  of  think- 
ing that  changes  could  be  produced  in  months  and  years  for 
which  history  required  generations  and  centuries.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  features  of  the  drama  which  is  now  being 
played  in  France  is  that  the  development  of  affairs  proceeds  too 
rapidly  for  most  of  the  revolutionists,  events  outstripping  the 
thoughts,  wishes,  hopes,  and  interests  of  individuals.  On  the 
1 2th  of  March,  a  popular  assembly  was  elected  by  universal 
suffrage  throughout  the  whole  country,  and  a  government  es- 
tablished by  that  body.  On  the  i8th  of  March,  the  red  flag 
was  in  all  seriousness  hoisted  in  Paris.  Garibaldi,  on  whose 
appearance  before  a  representative  European  mob  at  Geneva 
some  years  ago  the  Alps  bowed  down  their  heads  in  veneration, 
and  who  a  few  years  previously  had  been  fondled  by  the  high- 
est circles  of  the  British  aristocracy,  found  himself  obliged  to 
decline  the  leading  part  for  which  he  had  been  cast  in  the 
drama.  It  is  now  the  turn  of  the  Poles.  The  friends  of  the 
Poles  in  London,  and  the  diplomatists  of  the  Hotel  Lambert  in 
Paris,  who  have  been  working  for  that  cause  for  forty  years 
past,  cannot  bridge  the  gulf  which  separates  them  from  Gen- 
eral Dombrowsky.  According  to  a  communication  published 
yesterday,  Count  Ladislaus  Plater  will  not  hear  of  any  solidarity 
between  the  Polish  emigrants  and  the  Paris  Reds  —  each  side 
must  remain  responsible  for  its  own  actions.  Will  this  commu- 
nication, however,  cause  the  world  to  forget  that  the  bulk  of 
these  Poles  in  every  country  have  stood  on  the  side  of  those 
parties  that  fight  against  the  State  and  undermine  social  order, 
and  that  the  fact  of  their  having  done  so  has  been  proclaimed 
both  by  the  Polish  emigrants  themselves  and  by  others  as  one 
of  their  titles  to  fame  ?  On  the  contrary,  we  are  convinced  that 
in  Count  Plater's  protest,  the  world  will  recognise  an  indirect 
acknowledgment  that  this  has  always  been  the  case,  and  will 
sec  in  the  events  on  the  Lower  Danube  a  new  proof  that  up  to 
the  present  no  change  has  taken  place  in  this  respect." 

livening.  —  Called  to  the  Chief,  who  wishes  to  have  the  fol- 
lowing inserted  in  the  Norddciitsche  Allgevicinc  Zeitnng :  —  "A 
meeting   of  Catholics  of  all    ranks  and   professions,  which  has 


1871J  THK   NEW   CATHOLIC   PARTY  46 1 

been  held  at  Munich,  has  passed  a  resolution  begging  King 
Lewis  to  use  every  legal  means  to  avert  the  dangerous  conse- 
quences of  the  dogma  of  infallibility,  to  prohibit  its  propaga- 
tion in  public  educational  institutions,  and  to  take  speedy  and 
energetic  measures  for  regulating  the  relations  between  Church 
and  State  in  harmony  with  the  Constitution.  The  petition 
which  was  drawn  up  was  signed  on  the  spot  by  some  two  hun- 
dred persons,  and  is  now  being  circulated  in  various  places  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  fresh  signatures.  Similar  petitions 
are  being  prepared  in  most  of  the  Bavarian  towns.  It  was  to 
be  expected  from  the  beginning  that  this  movement  would  ex- 
tend from  the  learned  classes  and  the  clergy  to  the  general 
public.  The  fact  that  this  has  occurred  at  the  present  moment 
may  unquestionably  be  attributed  to  the  course  taken  by  that 
Party  in  the  German  Reichstag  which  claims  to  monopolise  the 
name  of  Catholic.  Its  members  have  now  had  a  proof  that  they 
made  a  mistake  when  at  a  political  meeting,  which  was  sum- 
moned on  a  purely  sectarian  basis,  they  formed  themselves  into 
a  party  which,  dismissing  all  political  considerations,  assumes 
an  attitude  of  aggression  towards  the  other  parties,  and  of  de- 
fiance towards  the  Federal  Government.  The  first  lesson  which 
these  gentlemen  received  through  their  defeat  in  the  Reichstag 
does  not  appear  to  have  led  them  as  yet  to  a  recognition  of 
their  error,  as  instead  of  seeking  for  its  cause  in  themselves, 
they,  like  all  those  who  have  a  lust  of  power,  try  to  make 
others  responsible  for  it,  and  pronounce  the  allied  Governments 
to  be  guilty  of  criminal  neglect  in  not  rushing  to  their  assist- 
ance. Perhaps  the  movement  in  Bavaria  will  convince  them. 
If  not,  future  events  will  do  so.  The  logic  of  facts,  which 
wreaks  vengeance  upon  them,  will  not  cease  with  the  present 
step.  The  effacement  of  all  political  character  on  the  part  of 
the  Clericals  must  bring  about  an  alliance  against  the  latter 
between  all  other  parties  having  political  aims,  whatever  differ- 
ences may  exist  amongst  them,  and  the  attack  which  this  non- 
political  party  has  undertaken  to  make  will  lead  the  political 
groups  to  adopt  the  necessary  means  of  defence  against  future 
assault." 

According  to  a  report  from  Munich,  the  influential  Cabinet 
Councillor,  Eisenhardt,  and  the  Ministers  Von  Lutz  and  Von 
Schlor  manifest   a   leaning  towards  the   Bollinger  movement, 


462  THE  "OLD   CATHOLICS"  [Aikil  20 

and  if  the  latter  should  develop  a  tendency  to  form  a  community 
of  "  Old  Catholics  "  —  that  is  to  say,  of  those  who  do  not  accept 
the  dogma  of  Papal  infallibility  —  the  Government  would  be  pre- 
pared to  protect  them  in  their  rights  of  property.  Read  a  letter 
from  Switzerland,  which  has  been  sent  to  our  Minister  at  Bern 
with  the  remark  that  it  has  come  from  a  shrewd  observer.  The 
letter  says  that  the  Germans  were  themselves  in  fault  for  the 
disorders  at  the  Peace  Celebration  in  Zurich.  They  had  bragged 
of  successes  for  which  they  had  not  fought ;  and,  indeed,  up  to 
the  present,  they  had  been  mere  parasites.  If  the  "  respectable" 
Swiss  press  now  confirm  the  reports  of  these  Germans  who  put 
everything  in  a  false  light,  that  is  due  in  the  first  place  to  the 
Liberal  party,  which  wants  to  make  capital  out  of  the  affair 
against  the  democratic  element,  and  in  the  second  place  to  the 
Gothard  party,  which  is  acting  with  the  former,  and  which  fears 
that  for  some  reason  Germany  may  withdraw  from  the  pro- 
motion of  the  Tunnel  project. 

April  20th.  —  We  hear  from  Vienna  that  Beust  is  trying  to 
draw  nearer  to  the  Hohenwart  and  Klerhalm  Ministry,  as  there 
is  now  a  power  in  the  public  life  of  Austria  which  is  stronger 
than  the  Imperial  Chancellor,  and  which,  although  it  now  spares 
him,  could  at  a  later  moment  bring  about  his  fall.  Many  things 
which  now  happen  probably  have  their  origin  in  the  Cabinet  of 
the  Emperor,  and  are  therefore  due  to  Herr  von  Braun,  who  is 
married  to  a  Frankfort  lady,  and  who  is  in  regular  intercourse 
with  the  ex-Senator  Bernus,  who,  in  turn,  has  frequent  meetings 
with  Frese.  Among  the  drafts  is  an  instruction  to  W.  in 
Munich,  dated  the  i8th  instant,  which  runs  as  follows:  "  In  my 
telegram  of  the  7th  I  referred  to  the  attitude  of  the  Clericals  in 
the  Reichstag,  where  their  hostility  to  the  Imperial  Government 
is  becoming  more  evident  from  day  to  day.  At  first  it  might 
have  been  expected  that  the  party  which  was  being  formed,  even 
if  it  had  a  strongly  Catholic  tendency,  would  not  subordinate  all 
]-)olitical  questions  to  sectarian  differences,  but  would,  to  some 
extent,  join  with  the  Imperial  Government  upon  the  basis  of 
Conservative  principles  and  the  honourable  promotion  of  the 
common  national  interests,  sui)])orting  it  in  the  same  way  as  the 
strictly  orthodox  wing  of  the  t^vangelical  Church  has  done,  with- 
out sacrificing  their  independence.  In  consequence  of  this 
expectation,  the   Government  had   observed  a  friendly  attitude 


iSyil  Till';   (  l.IiRlCAl.S    IN    THE    KKICIISTAC;  463 

towards  the  parlv,  aiul  in  the  debate  on  the  Address  had  avoided 
any  rejoinder  to  the  plea  oj)enly  put  forward  for  German  inter- 
vention in  Italy,  in  order  to  leave  free  j^lay  to  the  expression  of 
the  various  aspirations  and  views.  That  debate,  and  still  more 
those  that  followed  on  the  introduction  of  certain  fundamental 
alterations  in  the  constitution  of  the  Empire,  showed  clearly  that 
the  Clerical  party  had  develoj^ed  into  a  close  organisation  on  a 
purely  sectarian  basis,  and  were  prepared  to  sacrifice  all  national 
and  political  interests  to  those  of  their  creed.  The  result  is  that 
the)'  have  made  opponents  of  all  the  other  parties,  and  particu- 
larly of  those  Catholics  who  remain  faithful  to  the  national 
cause,  finding  no  suj^port  on  any  side  except  among  the  Hano- 
verian .Separatists  and  the  Poles.  I  greatly  regret  these  tactless 
and  inept  proceedings  which  aggravate  the  strain  of  sectarian 
differences.  I  learn  that  the  Clerical  party  regards  the  failure 
of  its  efforts  to  find  support  in  the  Federal  Council  as  a  sort  of 
declaration  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  The  allied 
Governments,  on  the  other  hand,  find  that  the  aggressive  ten- 
dencies of  this  party,  which  is  only  a  continuation  of  the  attitude 
long  since  adopted,  and,  unfortunately,  still  maintained  by  the 
Clerical  press,  naturally  affects  their  position,  and  must  force 
them  into  taking  defensive  measures  of  a  more  effective  char- 
acter, and  oblige  them  on  their  side  to  assume  the  aggressive. 
The  uncompromising  attitude  of  the  Clericals  greatly  promotes 
the  Dollinger  movement,  and  helps  to  wdn  sympathy  for  it  in 
circles  which  previously  held  aloof  from  it,  where  the  course 
taken  is  regarded  as  confirmation  of  the  assertion  of  Dollinger 
and  his  friends  respecting  the  incompatibility  of  Clerical  and 
Ultramontane  tendencies  with  the  demands  of  a  national  com- 
monweal." W.  was  to  speak  confidentially  to  Bray  in  this  sense. 
I  find  from  one  of  W.'s  reports  that  this  has  been  done.  The 
Bavarian  Minister  has,  indeed,  expressed  his  agreement  with  the 
foregoing  statement,  but  the  chief  cause  of  his  regret  is  that  the 
foolish  course  taken  by  the  Clericals  in  the  Reichstag  has  ren- 
dered it  impossible  for  the  Government  to  cooperate  with  them, 
a  jDolicy  which  would,  in  his  opinion,  have  been  desirable,  and 
will  now  oblige  it  on  principle  to  oppose  them.  Dollinger,  in 
his  opinion,  had  also  gone  too  far. 

/[pril  2\st.  —  This   morning  the   Chief  wished  to  have  an 
article  written  for  the  KbhiiscJic  Zeitiuis^  calling  attention  to  the 


464  "BARRICADE   HEROES"  [April  24 

contrast  between  the  intellectual  impotence  of  the  French  and 
their  self-conceit,  and  to  the  circumstance  that  in  recent  times 
they  have  always  had  to  trust  to  foreigners  for  their  salvation 

—  a  theme  for  which  he  gave  me  the  ideas.  The  article  ran  as 
follows  :  —  "  The  forces  at  the  disposal  of  the  insurgents  num- 
ber about  120,000.  In  addition  to  these  may  be  reckoned  some 
10,000  or  12,000  more  or  less  convinced  Republicans  who  have 
come  from  abroad,  from  the  provinces,  from  Belgium,  and  from 
England ;  and  perhaps  an  equal  number  of  criminals  and  mis- 
demeanants. A  large  proportion  of  the  National  Guards,  who 
are  only  serving  under  compulsion,  long  for  the  moment  when 
they  shall  be  obliged  to  lay  down  their  arms.  The  remainder 
consist  of  workmen  who  prefer  the  pay  of  the  Commune,  the 
daily  excitement  and  amusement  of  chasing  former  gendarmes 
and  policemen,  to  a  peaceful  return  to  their  workshops.  That 
cannot  last  long.  It  would  be  unnatural  if,  among  these  thou- 
sands of  idle  workmen  and  insurgents  under  duress,  a  disgust 
for  such  a  life  did  not  make  itself  felt,  together  with  a  surfeit 
of  the  hardships  of  the  soldier's  trade,  and  a  loosening  of  disci- 
pline. For  the  moment,  indeed,  Dombrowsky,  who  enjoys  a 
certain  popularity,  succeeds  in  holding  them  together.  This  is 
a  new  symptom  of  the  extraordinary  intellectual  poverty  and 
weakness  of  will  which  characterises  the  Frenchman  of  to-day, 
and  particularly  the  Parisian.  They  boast  of  being  the  centre 
of  civilisation,  the  focus  of  the  intelligence  of  our  time  ;  and 
yet,  lo  and  behold,  in  the  recent  crises  they  have  always  selected 
foreigners  for  their  leaders,  and  have  sought  their  salvation 
abroad !  After  the  fall  of  the  Empire  they  allowed  themselves 
to  be  tyrannised  by  Gambetta.  At  the  same  time  they  placed 
their  hopes  in  Garibaldi,  another  Italian,  who  would  now  be 
Dictator  in  Paris  had  he  desired  it.  Instead  of  Garibaldi,  they 
must  now  depend  upon  Poles  of  the  notorious  guild  of  '  barri- 
cade heroes  '  —  such  as  Dombrowsky,  Okolowitch,  &c. ;  while, 
finally,  there  is  an  almost  universal  wish  entertained  by  the 
party  of  order,  who  are  dissatisfied  with  the  lack  of  energy 
manifested  at  Versailles,  that  the  Germans  —  again  foreigners 

—  should  undertake  the  restoration  of  law  and  order."  The 
following  is  an  almost  literal  reproduction  of  the  Chancellor's 
own  words:  —  "Scarcely  another  people  in  the  whole  world 
would  condescend  in   such  a  j)it.iful   wny  to  borrow  its  heroes 


iSyiJ  FRANCE'S   OBLIGATIONS  465 

from  abroad.  With  the  exception  of  these  Parisians  who  boast 
of  being  the  cream  of  civiHsation,  but  who  in  reality  arc  merely 
the  redskins  of  the  pavement,  as  empty-headed  and  weak-willed 
as  savages,  none  would  submit  to  be  driven  by  energetic, 
although  otherwise  insignificant,  foreigners  towards  ends  that 
are  in  every  respect  opposed  to  their  own  interests.  Truly  a 
repulsive  and  most  pitiable  degeneracy!  " 

April  24///.  —  Called  to  the  Chief  this  evening,  and  received 
instructions  and  materials  for  an  article  in  the  KolniscJie  Zci- 
tniig,  which  ran  as  follows :  —  "If  the  French  ship  which  came 
to  Gluckstadt  to  convey  40,000  French  prisoners  of  war  back 
to  their  country  was  obliged  to  return  without  having  effected' 
its  object,  the  reasons  were  very  clearly  indicated  by  the  Impe- 
rial Chancellor  in  his  last  speech  in  the  Reichstag.  According 
to  the  Preliminary  Peace,  the  prisoners  were  to  be  surrendered ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  French  Government  was  not  at 
liberty,  until  after  the  signature  of  the  final  treaty,  to  station 
any  troops  between  the  Seine  and  the  Loire,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  40,000  men  in  Paris.  In  consideration  of  the  embar- 
rassment caused  to  the  Government  of  M.  Thiers  by  the 
Communist  rising,  no  objection  was  raised  on  the  part  of  Ger- 
many to  the  collection  of  a  force  of  over  40,000  men  near 
Versailles;  and,  indeed,  this  measure  was  for  a  time  endorsed 
by  the  liberation  of  a  large  number  of  prisoners.  The  Ger- 
mans were,  however,  under  no  obligation  to  do  this.  On  the 
contrary,  their  obligation  ceased  so  long  as  the  French  Govern- 
ment was  not  in  a  position  to  fulfil  its  share  of  the  undertaking 
to  establish  and  maintain  a  neutral  zone  between  the  Seine  and 
Loire.  The  concessions  made  on  the  German  side  in  the  mat- 
ter of  the  liberation  of  prisoners  were  voluntary  concessions, 
mere  acts  of  a  complaisance  dictated  by  our  own  interest,  the 
continuance  of  which  depended  entirely  upon  circumstances, 
upon  the  good  will  manifested  at  Versailles,  and  upon  the  con- 
fidence which  may  be  reposed  in  Berlin,  in  the  loyalty  to  its 
treaty  engagements,  as  well  as  the  energy  and  capacity  of  the 
Versailles  Government.  But  there  was  also  another  considera- 
tion. Notwithstanding  the  order  issued  by  Favre,  all  the  Ger- 
man prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  French  have  not  yet  been 
sent  back,  although  their  liberation  should  have  taken  place 
immediately  after  the  Convention  of  the  28th  of  January.    This 


466  THE   PARIS  COMMUNE  [April  30 

is  doubtless  due  to  the  independent  position  of  the  French 
Minister  of  War,  as  well  as  of  the  Chief  of  the  Admiralty,  who 
have  shown  a  reluctance  to  discharge  strictly  and  speedily  the 
engagements  entered  into  by  Favre  and  Thiers  for  the  release 
of  some  fourteen  hundred  German  officers  and  soldiers,  who 
are  still  held  as  prisoners,  as,  amongst  other  matters,  for  the 
surrender  of  the  merchant  vessels  that  had  not  been  con- 
demned before  the  conclusion  of  the  Preliminary  Peace.  Can 
the  Versailles  Government  fairly  expect  us  to  make  further 
concessions  when  it  has  itself  contumaciously  neglected  the 
fulfilment  of  its  own  obligations  for  fully  three  months  ? " 

April  2()th.  —  The  Minister  wishes  the  following  explanation 
of  the  "  double  face "  of  the  Paris  Commune  inserted  in  the 
press:  —  "Many  reports  from  Paris,  and  all  those  originating 
with  persons  who  have  access  to  the  Government  at  Versailles, 
allude  only  to  one  of  the  tendencies  which  have  contributed  to 
the  revolution  in  Paris  and  the  foundation  of  the  Commune. 
They  represent  it,  namely,  as  the  work  of  the  cosmopolitan  rev- 
olutionary spirit  and  as  an  attempt  to  realise  socialistic  and 
communistic  chimeras.  The  truth  of  this  is  not  to  be  denied. 
It  is  a  cosmopolitan  revolutionary  spirit  which  united  under  the 
communistic  flag  MM.  Dombrowski,  Okolowitch,  Stupny,  Lan- 
duski,  Burnaki,  and  other  Polish  '  heroes  of  the  barricades,'  to- 
gether with  the  Garibaldians  and  the  crowd  of  Belgian  and 
English  members  of  the  International,  and  which  won  for  them 
the  sympathies  of  Bebcl  and  Schraps  in  the  Imperial  Diet.  It 
is  the  grossest  form  of  Communism  that  has  united  these  cham- 
pions of  revolt  with  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  liberated  crimi- 
nals and  the  rest  of  the  dregs  of  modern  civilisation.  But  in 
addition  to  the  fantastic  and  criminal  cravings  of  which  these 
are  the  representatives  and  tools,  there  is  another  element 
involved  in  the  present  Revolution  that  should  never  be  lost 
sight  of.  This  movement,  which  is  thoroughly  well  founded, 
and  is  supported  by  order-loving  and  sensible  citizens,  aims  at  a 
more  reasonable  municipal  organisation  by  the  curtailment  of 
an  unnecessary  and  burdensome  State  guardianship.  This  ten- 
dency is  explained  by  the  history  of  France.  The  tyrannous 
municipal  ]>olicy  of  Hausmann,  which  had  a  highly  prejudicial 
effect  upon  the  interests  of  the  Corporation  of  Paris,  is  a  strik- 
ing  cxanij)le  of  the  evils   referred   to.      If   the   Parisians  were 


iSyi]  OVERTURES   FROM   THE  COMMUNE  467 

given  a  municipal  constitution  approximating  to  that  of  the 
Prussian  towns  in  the  Hardenberg  period,  many  thoughtful  and 
practical  men  in  Paris  who  arc  now  opposed  to  the  Versailles 
Government  would  be  satisfied,  and  would  be  no  longer  inclined 
to  encourage  the  Revolution  by  their  passive  support." 

April  loth.  —  Yesterday  and  to-day  read  a  number  of  inter- 
esting documents  treating  of  negotiations  with  Cluseret,  the 
present  General  of  the  Commune,  and  took  note  of  them  for 
future  use.  In  the  first  of  these  dated  the  loth  instant,  Fabrice 
was  instructed  by  telegraph  to  say  in  reply  to  Cluseret  that  he 
would  listen  to  any  overtures  which  the  latter  might  desire  to 
make  to  him,  and  bring  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Chancel- 
lor. The  telegram  then  continued:  —  "If  he  should  then  call 
upon  you  it  might  be  possible,  without  actually  negotiating,  to 
lead  him  to  say  how  the  Commune  would  propose  to  raise  the 
money  for  us.  You  might  also  be  able  to  bring  home  to  him 
the  helplessness  of  the  whole  affair,  and  in  that  way  form  an 
opinion  as  to  the  prospects  of  an  attempt  at  mediation  between 
Paris  and  Versailles.  In  reply  to  a  despatch  of  the  21st  of 
April,  in  which  Fabrice  says  that  the  Commune  has  no  money, 
and  that  in  order  to  raise  some  it  has  already  seized  upon  the 
property  of  societies  and  individuals,  the  Chief  said  that  the  gen- 
eral should  nevertheless  sound  them  as  to  the  surrender  of  Paris 
to  us,  but  only  for  purposes  of  information  and  report.  The 
idea  that  the  Commune  could  be  really  considered  solvent  had 
been  entirely  foreign  to  the  telegram  of  the  lOth  instant.  It  was 
only  a  reconnaissance  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  inten- 
tions and  resources  of  the  holders  of  power  in  Paris.  Fabrice 
reports  from  Soissy  on  the  27th  instant  that  Holstein,  who  had 
remained  behind  with  him,  had  had  a  meeting  with  Cluseret,  and 
that  the  Commune  was  disposed  to  pay  a  sum  of  500,000,000 
francs,  of  which  300,000,000  was  in  hand,  in  the  form  of  secu- 
rities belonging  to  the  city,  while  the  remaining  200,000,000 
could  be  raised  by  the  sale  of  the  Octroi  dues.  In  return  for 
this  the  Germans  would  be  required  to  abstain  from  taking  any 
part  in  the  stoppage  of  supplies,  and  not  to  deliver  any  of  the 
forts  occupied  by  them  to  the  Versailles  Government.  A  desire 
was  also  expressed  that  we  should  endeavour  to  bring  about 
an  understanding  as  to  a  modus  vivcndi  between  the  two  bel- 
ligerent parties.     There  was  a  twofold  basis  upon  which  this 


468  BISMARCK'S   REPLY  [April  30 

could  be  effected.  One  was  that  the  city  should  be  disarmed, 
but  should  not  be  occupied  by  the  troops  of  the  Versailles  Gov- 
ernment, and  that  it  should  be  granted  a  communal  administra- 
tion, together  with  security  against  a  recurrence  of  Hausmann 
or  Pietri  Budgets.  The  second  was  the  dissolution  of  the  pres- 
ent National  Assembly,  which  had  exhausted  its  mandate,  and 
a  fresh  appeal  to  France,  whose  decision  would  be  accepted  by 
Paris.  Cluseret  had  described  the  socialist  and  other  excesses 
as  a  phase  of  this  'drole  de  mouvement'  which  had  now  passed 
away.  He  treated  the  military  siege  of  the  city  as  an  impossi- 
bility, but  begged  in  the  event  of  Versailles  being,  in  spite  of  all 
human  probability,  victorious  that  they  should  not  be  permitted 
to  destroy  Paris.  This,  as  well  as  the  expectation  that  we  might 
mediate,  was  only  a  desire  on  their  part,  and  not  one  of  the  con- 
ditions of  payment.  The  Frenchman  then  observed  that  nego- 
tiations with  us  would  subject  him  to  less  suspicion  in  Paris  than 
would  negotiations  with  the  Versailles  Government.  He  further 
promised  to  release  all  German  prisoners  as  soon  as  he  was 
informed  who  and  where  they  were,  and  also  to  move  at  once 
for  the  liberation  of  the  Archbishop,  whose  imprisonment  was 
an  inheritance  from  the  first  phase  of  the  movement.  Finally, 
he  repeated  that  the  only  important  points  were  our  neutrality 
and  the  abstention  from  interference  with  their  supplies,  as 
from  a  military  standpoint  the  Versailles  people  caused  him  no 
anxiety." 

The  Chief  replied  on  the  same  day,  that  from  this  it  ap- 
peared, if  Cluseret's  views  could  be  accepted  as  authoritative 
in  Paris,  that  mediation  between  the  latter  and  Versailles  was 
not  hopeless,  those  views  being  more  moderate  than  he  had 
expected,  particularly  with  regard  to  disarmament.  Fabrice 
might  try  to  ascertain  what  Favre  thought  of  the  first  alterna- 
tive. In  the  meantime  our  attitude  should  be  made  to  corre- 
spond with  Cluseret's  expectations  by  observing  neutrality,  and 
taking  no  part  in  the  maintenance  of  the  cordon  round  Paris. 
A  despatch  setting  forth  the  reasons  for  this  course  would  be 
sent  to  him,  Fabrice,  that  day.  The  telegram  concluded :  — 
"  The  demands  of  the  P^rench  negotiators  in  Brussels  with 
respect  to  the  five  milliards  and  the  Eastern  Railway  show 
qu  on  sc  moqiic  dc  nousy 

These  telegrams  were  supplemented  by  a  further  communi- 


1871J  GEKMANV'S    MEDIATION  469 

cation  dated  the  day  before  yesterday,  which  said  that  Fabrice 
should  keep  up  the  relations  that  had  been  established  with 
Cluseret,  and  should  try  to  ascertain  whether  he  was  of  opinion 
that  in  case  of  the  disarmament  of  the  city  and  its  non-occu- 
pation by  the  Versailles  troops  it  could  be  garrisoned  by  our 
soldiers.  If  that  were  the  case,  it  would  be  desirable  to  make  a 
serious  endeavour  to  mediate  with  Versailles.  Communal  inde- 
pendence, after  the  fashion  of  the  Prussian  municipal  regula- 
tions, was  not  in  itself  an  unreasonable  demand,  if  no  efforts 
were  made  to  secure  communistic  adjuncts.  Perhaps  it  would 
be  possible  to  sever  the  reasonable  communal  movement  from 
the  international  one.  If  in  doing  this  we  succeeded  in  occupy- 
ing Paris  with  the  approval  of  the  two  parties,  guaranteeing 
communal  independence  until  the  French  had  come  to  an  un- 
derstanding among  themselves,  and  intervening  with  a  strong 
hand  in  restoring  domestic  peace  in  France,  we  should  improve 
our  own  position  and  gain  fresh  securities  against  possible  bad 
faith  at  Versailles.  In  these  circumstances  Fabrice  was  to 
avoid  taking  sides  in  any  way  against  the  Parisians. 

The  despatch  mentioned  in  the  last  telegram  of  the  27th  of 
April,  which  was  to  be  forwarded  by  courier  on  the  same  day, 
began  by  referring  to  a  telegram  from  Fabrice,  according  to 
which  Favre  begged  in  a  formal  Note  that  the  French  troops 
might  be  permitted  to  pass  through  our  lines  over  the  Northern 
Railway  and  force  their  way  into  Paris ;  further,  that  the  Ger- 
man military  authorities  should  call  upon  the  insurgents  to  dis- 
arm the  enceinte,  in  accordance  with  the  Convention  of  the 
28th  of  January ;  and,  finally,  that  the  French  army  might  be 
permitted  to  pass  through  the  district  and  gate  of  St.  Ouen.  It 
runs  as  follows :  —  "  The  French  Government  requests  us  to 
permit  the  passage  of  their  troops  through  St.  Ouen.  This  lies 
within  the  neutral  zone,  where  the  presence  of  both  armies  is 
forbidden  by  the  Convention  of  the  28th  of  January.  In  order 
to  enable  us  to  agree  to  this  we  should  be  convinced  that  any 
arrangements  we  may  come  to  with  the  French  Government 
would  be  carried  out  by  the  latter.  This  conviction  has  been 
shaken  by  the  dilatoriness  of  the  French  in  the  fulfilment  of 
previous  obligations,  and  by  certain  indications  of  a  tendency 
to  place  an  arbitrary  interpretation,  contrary  to  their  true  sense, 
upon  stipulations  that  are  now  in  force.     The  French  Govern- 


470  FRENCH    PREl-ENSIONS  [April  30 

mcnt  is  in  arrears  with  the  greater  part  of  the  money  payable 
for  the  maintenance  of  our  troops,  with  the  release  of  German 
prisoners  of  war,  and  with  the  issue  of  clear  and  peremptory 
instructions  to  the  Governors  of  the  Colonies  and  the  Com- 
manders of  the  naval  stations  in  Eastern  Asia  for  the  suspen- 
sion of  hostilities.  The  disposition  to  put  a  construction  upon 
agreements  which  they  never  had,  as  well  as  to  extend  and  over- 
ride them  without  an  understanding  with  us,  is  betrayed  by  the 
collection  of  140,000  troops,  where  they  are  only  justified  in 
having  100,000;  in  the  attempt  to  reduce  the  war  indemnity  by 
making  payments  below  par ;  and  in  what,  to  my  astonishment, 
appears  to  be  the  manifestation  of  a  desire  for  the  commence- 
ment of  the  evacuation  of  the  districts  occupied  by  us.  If  the 
French  Government  should  really  assert  that  we  are  bound, 
upon  the  payment  of  the  first  half  milliard,  and  before  the  con- 
clusion of  a  definitive  peace,  to  any  sort  of  evacuation,  that  cir- 
cumstance would  destroy  all  my  confidence  in  its  loyalty,  as 
during  the  negotiations  no  other  view  was  ever  held  than  that 
a  definitive  peace  must  precede  any  evacuation  by  us  of  this 
side  of  the  Seine. 

"  It  was  then  supposed  that  the  conclusion  of  a  definitive 
peace  would  take  place  previous  to  any  payment  by  France. 
M.  Thiers  expressed  his  intention  to  commence  his  financial 
operations  after  a  lapse  of  two  months  at  the  earliest,  and  con- 
sidered that  the  definitive  treaty  would  be  concluded  in  from 
four  to  .six  weeks.  There  was  no  question  that  the  whole  pres- 
ent occupation  was  regarded  as  a  guarantee  to  us  for  the  con- 
clusion of  the  definitive  peace;  and  the  terms  clearly  show  that 
all  the  evacuation  yet  to  take  place  was  subordinated  to  the 
final  peace,  and  that  the  payments  only  affected  the  various 
stages  of  these  evacuations.  The  sentence  following  these 
stipulations,  according  to  which  the  evacuation  is  to  take  place 
after  the  conclusion  of  peace  and  after  the  payment  of  the  first 
half  milliard,  was  not  contained  in  the  original  text.  M.  Thiers 
wished  to  have  it  concluded,  and  M.  Favre  considered  it  super- 
fluous. I  declared  myself  in  favour  of  its  inclusion,  as  on  the 
day  before  I  had  agreed  that  a  comparatively  large  and  impor- 
tant stage  of  the  evacuation  should  be  made  dependent  upon 
this  first  payment,  which  might  be  reckoned  on  the  basis  of  the 
proportion  between  the  entire  territory  occupied  and  the  whole 


1871]  CONSTRUCriON   OF  THE  TKK.Vl  V  471 

five  milliards.  M.  Thiers  kept  me  to  my  word,  which  I  ac- 
knowledged ;  but  there  was  never  any  question  of  the  evacua- 
tion of  this  side  of  the  Seine  before  the  ratification  of  the 
definitive  treaty  of  peace. 

"  Should  the  French  entertain  any  doubt  on  this  point,  your 
E.xcellency  will  explain  to  M.  Favre  that  I  would  rather  advise 
his  Majesty  to  ivivicdiately  renew  hostilities  than  submit  to  such 
a  falsification  of  the  spirit  in  which  the  Versailles  ne<^otiations 
were  conducted. 

"  The  decision  of  his  Majesty  with  respect  to  our  expected 
cooperation,  direct  or  indirect,  will  depend,  on  the  one  hand, 
upon  military  considerations  which  are  still  under  discussion, 
as  well  as  upon  the  contents  of  the  French  official  overtures 
announced  in  your  Excellency's  telegram  No.  196.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  must  take  advantage  of  the  jiresent  situation 
with  the  object  of  removing  every  uncertainty  which  the  French 
may  endeavour  to  read  into  our  agreements.  Should  your  Ex- 
cellency really  have  occasion  to  suppose,  as  would  appear  to 
me  from  the  contents  of  your  reports  of  the  22nd  and  23rd 
instant,  that  the  French  intend  to  interpret  the  treaty  of  peace 
as  if  the  sentence  in  Article  3  —  U (Evacuation  dcs  departeincnts 
—  s  oph'era  graducUcment  aprh  la  ratification  du  traits  dc  paix 
definitif —  were  modified  by  that  which  follows  it,  separated 
only  by  a  semicolon:  aprh  le  versement — la  rive  droite,  in 
such  a  way  that  the  words  of  the  first  sentence,  from  aprh  to 
definitif,  would  be  rendered  of  no  effect  for  the  territory  in 
question,  your  Excellency  will  please  demand  from  the  French 
Government,  in  the  form  of  an  ultimatum,  a  clear  explanation 
upon  this  point.  Were  this  to  be  refused  I  should  lose  all  faith 
in  its  intention  to  honourably  fulfil  its  treaty  obligations,  and 
it  would  then  become  desirable  to  renew  the  military  operations 
as  early  as  possible.  We  will  not  permit  ourselves  to  be  cozened 
out  of  our  present  position,  but  will,  on  the  contrary,  hold  fast 
to  it  until  the  definitive  peace  has  been  concluded  to  our  satis- 
faction. We  have  made  these  stipulations  in  order  that  we 
may  be  able  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  with  this  object.  So 
long  as  the  obligations  undertaken,  but  not  yet  fulfilled,  by 
France  with  respect  to  the  indemnity  and  the  prisoners  of  war 
remain  unfulfilled,  and  so  long  as  the  above-mentioned  doubt  as 
to  the  intentions  of  the  French  Government  respecting  the  in- 


472  A   CRITICAL   SITUATION  [May  2 

tcrpretation  of  the  preliminary  peace  and  the  conclusion  of  a 
definitive  treaty  is  not  removed,  I  must  advise  his  Majesty 
against  every  form  of  support  for  the  Versailles  Government ; 
and  instead  of  any  such  support,  I  must  recommend  that  a 
demand  be  at  once  addressed  to  the  French  authorities  to  reduce 
the  number  of  their  troops  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the 
treaty,  or  to  be  prepared  for  a  renewal  of  hostilities." 

May  1st.  —  According  to  a  communication  of  yesterday's 
date,  from  Fabrice,  Colonel  de  la  Haye  had  said  to  him  that 
probably  a  memorial  from  Thiers  would  be  received,  and  not 
the  Note  from  Favre,  which  had  been  announced,  and  that 
Favre  had  repeatedly  declared  that  France  was  now  fulfilling 
the  obligations  which  she  had  undertaken,  would  continue  to  do 
so,  and  was  prepared  to  conclude  peace,  and  to  recognise  the 
preliminaries  as  merely  intended  to  lead  up  to  it.  In  return, 
he  asked  for  permission  to  attack  Paris  by  way  of  Epinay,  and 
the  Northern  Railway  line,  through  St.  Denis,  and  that  the  Com- 
mune should  be  called  upon,  in  accordance  with  the  Convention, 
to  withdraw  its  troops  from  the  enceinte.  The  colonel  requested 
Fabrice  to  inform  the  Chancellor  of  this.  Should  the  latter 
decline,  the  French  Government  would  be  able  to  say,  in  the 
presence  of  Europe,  that  it  had  discharged  its  duty  to  the  best 
of  its  ability,  but  that  Germany  had  prevented  it  from  offering 
an  effective  resistance  to  the  insurrection.  Favre  declared  that 
he  had  exhausted  all  his  resources,  and  that  it  was  now  neces- 
sary to  know  whether  Prussia  wished  to  favour  the  Government 
or  the  Commune.  De  la  Haye  had  expressed  a  strong  desire 
that  Fabrice  should  not  communicate  this  statement  to  the  Chief, 
before  the  receipt  of  Thiers'  memorial.  Fabrice,  first  of  all, 
begged  the  Frenchman  to  hasten  the  despatch  of  the  letter,  but, 
also,  before  that  was  done,  to  explain  to  Favre  the  significance 
and  consequences  of  the  demand  which  he  expected  us  to  make 
u])on  the  Commune  for  the  disarmament  of  the  enceinte,  a  point 
upon  which  Favre  did  not,  at  the  moment,  appear  to  be  quite 
clear.  To  this  the  Prince  replied  immediately  that  we  were 
not  bound  by  any  Convention  to  help  the  French  Government, 
although  we  were  justified  in  demanding  from  it  the  disarma- 
ment of  the  enceinte,  and  eventually  enforcing  the  same,  if  we 
found  it  to  be  in  our  interest.  The  latter,  however,  was  not  the 
case.     We  had  no  interest  in  overthrowing    the   opponents  of 


1871J  GERMANY'S   UISIRUST  473 

the  French  Government  at  the  cost  of  German  blood,  so  long 
as  that  Government  did  not  carry  out  the  stipulations  of  the 
preliminary  treaty,  but  sought,  on  the  contrary,  to  alter  them 
to  our  prejudice.  With  the  object  of  dissipating  the  mistrust 
that  had  arisen  in  this  way,  by  means  of  a  personal  discussion 
of  stronger  guarantees,  or  of  a  fixed  term  for  the  payment  of 
the  five  milliards,  the  Chancellor  finally  proposed  to  Favre  that 
they  should  meet  at  Frankfort  or  Mayence  on  any  day  he  chose 
to  select.  As  I  saw  later,  Favre  telegraphed  that  he  would  be 
in  Frankfort  on  Friday,  and  the  Chief  replied  that  he  would 
arrive  there  on  Saturday  —  perhaps  because  he  considers  Friday 
unlucky. 

May  2nd.  Evening.  —  On  the  instructions  of  the  Prince, 
wrote  an  article  for  the  Kolnische  Zeitinig,  which  was  dated 
from  Lagny,  and  was  based  on  the  foregoing  despatch  and 
other  information.  It  was  to  be  submitted  for  approbation  up- 
stairs to-morrow,  before  being  despatched.  It  ran  as  follows : 
—  "  The  conduct  of  the  French  Government  in  the  matter  of 
the  execution  of  the  preliminaries  of  peace  is  quite  enigmatic, 
not  to  use  the  stronger  term  of  prevarication.  In  the  position 
which  it  occupies  towards  the  insurrection  in  the  capital,  which 
is  growing  more  and  more  serious,  it  stands  in  urgent  need  of 
the  good  will  of  the  Germans,  of  their  indirect  assistance,  or,  at 
least,  of  their  neutrality.  Yet  up  to  the  last  few  days  it  has 
shown  itself  extremely  remiss  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  treaties 
concluded  with  us  in  January  and  March,  quibbling  in  a  very 
suspicious  way  over  their  most  important  stipulations,  seeking 
in  Brussels,  as  we  hear,  to  enforce  views  which,  if  adopted  in 
the  definitive  treaty,  would  bring  about  a  change,  by  no  means 
favourable  to  Germany,  of  the  basis  secured  by  us  in  the  pre- 
liminary peace  at  Versailles.  Moreover,  it  would  appear  that 
these  unacceptable  proposals  are  brought  forward  merely  with 
the  object  of  protracting  the  negotiations,  and,  in  the  interval 
thus  gained,  of  securing,  through  the  suppression  of  the  insur- 
rection of  the  Paris  Communists,  a  position  which  would  perhaps 
permit  them,  with  some  hope  of  success,  to  demand  easier  terms 
from  those  who  have  the  control  of  our  policy.  M.  Thiers' 
Government  only  paid  the  maintenance  money  in  a  tardy  way, 
and  under  the  pressure  of  threats  from  the  Germans.  It  tem- 
porised with  the  liberation  of  the  German  prisoners  who  still 


474  'iili'^    IRKNCII   TO   GIVE   EXl'LAXATIONS  [May  3 

remain  in  France,  and  it  shirked  in  like  manner  the  just  de- 
mands of  the  Germans  for  the  surrender  of  the  prize  vessels 
that  had  not  been  condemned  before  the  conclusion  of  the  pre- 
liminary peace.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  collected 
more  troops  near  Versailles  than  had  been  agreed  to  in  Berlin 
in  view  of  so  desperate  a  conflict  with  a  powerful  insurrection. 
It  expressed  an  opinion  that  we  were  bound  to  evacuate  the 
forts  of  St.  Denis  and  Charenton  —  not  after  the  ratification 
of  the  definitive  peace,  but  after  the  receipt  by  us  of  the  first 
half  milliard.  Finally,  it  caused  proposals  to  be  made  in 
Brussels  respecting  the  payment  of  the  five  milliards  which 
were  in  no  sense  justified  by  the  preliminary  treaty,  and  which, 
if  accepted  — ■  a  thing  utterly  inconceivable  —  would  delay  the 
payment  to  a  late  period,  and,  besides,  would  leave  Germany 
only  four-fifths,  and  perhaps  only  three-fifths,  of  the  war  indem- 
nity guaranteed  in  the  agreement  of  the  26th  of  February.  It 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  these  and  other  similar  facts  have 
shaken  the  confidence  which  was  felt  at  first  on  the  German 
side  in  the  loyalty  of  the  leading  French  statesmen,  if  suspicion 
has  begun  to  be  felt,  and  if  some  disinclination  exists  to  con- 
tinue the  favours  which  have  already  been  extended  to  the 
French  Government  in  dealing  with  the  insurrection  —  favours 
which  the  latter  sorely  needed,  and,  it  seems,  formally  asked 
for — ^  until  mistrust  has  been  dispelled  by  explanations  of  an 
unequivocal  character,  or,  perhaps,  entirely  removed  by  fresh 
guarantees.  It  is  reported  that  the  Chief  of  the  Executive  has 
been  left  in  no  doubt  upon  this  point,  and  it  is  now  stated  here 
that  M.  Favre,  who  is  understood  to  have  given  least  ground 
for  want  of  confidence,  will  in  a  few  days  have  a  conference 
with  Prince  Bismarck,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  explanations 
and  coming  to  an  understanding.  It  will  take  place,  as  we 
hear,  at  Frankfort.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  meeting  will 
clear  up  the  situation  and  hasten  the  conclusion  of  a  defini- 
tive peace." 

May  ird.  —  The  foregoing  article  was  returned  to  me  un- 
altered from  upstairs,  and  is  now  on  its  way  to  Cologne. 
Among  the  documents  received,  the  following  is  of  importance : 
F.  reports  from  Soissy,  on  the  ist  instant,  that  on  the  previous 
day  Cahn,  who  is  now  attached  to  the  Swiss  Ii^mbassy,  was 
authorised  at  the  instance  of  Cluscrct  to  go  through  the  French 


1S71J  THK    KMI'KKOR    ALEXANDER  475 

prisons  to  find  what  Germans  were  detained  there,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  set  at  Hberty.  Cluseret  had  also  stated  that 
he  had  proposed  the  liberation  of  the  Archbishop.  It  was  true 
that  part  of  the  Committee  was  opposed  to  this  measure,  but 
the  life  of  his  Eminence  was  nevertheless  perfectly  safe.  A 
meeting  with  Cluseret  was  arranged  for  on  the  ist  instant. 
Cahn,  however,  came  instead,  and  reported  that  Cluseret  was 
now  replaced  by  Captain  Rossel  as  Minister  of  War  for  the 
Commune.  Cahn  was  then  instructed  to  see  the  latter,  and 
ask  him  whether  he  maintained  the  decision  of  his  predecessor 
as  to  the  liberation  of  the  German  prisoners,  and  to  seriously 
warn  him  against  any  ill-treatment  of  the  Archbishop.  The 
telegram  adds  that  this  will  give  the  Commune  an  opportunity 
of  entering  into  relations  with  us.  If  they  do  not  avail  them- 
selves of  it,  doubtless  an  anti-German  intrigue  will  have  had 
something  to  do  with  the  fall  of  Cluseret.  The  supply  of  pro- 
visions for  Paris  is  seriously  retarded  on  the  north  side,  owing 
to  the  exceptional  vigilance  of  the  French  administration,  which 
is  very  well  informed. 

According  to  a  report  from  St.  Petersburg  of  the  26th  of 
April,  the  King  of  Denmark  has  written  to  the  Tsarevna,  ask- 
ing her  to  beg  the  Emperor  Alexander  to  bring  up  the  question 
of  North  Schleswig  in  Berlin.  The  Grand  Duchess  did  not 
give  her  father's  letter  to  the  Emperor  himself,  but  applied  to 
the  Empress,  who  afterwards  communicated  its  contents  to  him. 
Although  the  Emperor  Alexander  had  said  nothing  on  the 
subject  to  R.,  he  nevertheless  observed  that  he  greatly  desired 
to  have  a  talk  with  the  Emperor  William,  and  hoped  to  see 
him  in  June  either  in  Berlin  or  at  Ems.  The  Grand  Duchess 
H61^ne  informed  R.  of  this,  and  asked  what  reply  she  should 
give  to  the  Tsarevna,  who  had  repeatedly  inquired  whether  he 
had  not  said  anything  on  this  affair.  The  Grand  Duchess  was 
of  opinion  that  our  Government,  whose  German  sentiments 
were  doubted  by  no  one,  could  now  in  its  hour  of  triumph 
more  easily  make  concessions  than  before.  The  matter  might 
one  day  become  unpleasant,  and  counter-concessions  of  a  com- 
mercial character  {})  could  now  be  demanded  from  Denmark, 
which  would  secure  the  position  of  individual  Germans  in  the 
territory  to  be  ceded.  R.  replied  that  Germany  would  be  pre- 
pared to  make  concessions,  but  that  Denmark  would  not  be 


4/6  THE   FRANKFORT   CONFERENCE  [May  6 

satisfied  with  what  could  be  granted.  The  reason  of  the  Em- 
peror Alexander's  great  anxiety  to  see  the  affair  settled  is  that 
he  knows  how  eagerly  the  Danish  Court  stimulates  the  anti- 
German  sentiments  of  the  heir  to  the  Russian  throne.  The 
same  authority  reports  that  the  French  Government,  through 
the  Marquis  dc  Gabriac,  their  present  representative  in  St. 
Petersburg,  has  complained  to  Gortchakoff  that  we  are  no 
longer  as  friendly  as  we  were,  and  requested  him  to  mediate 
between  France  and  ourselves.  This  request  was,  however, 
declined,  attention  being  called  to  the  obligations  undertaken 
in  the  preliminary  peace,  the  fulfilment  of  which  was  the  right 
means  of  securing  the  good  will  of  Germany.  At  a  Court  ball 
the  Emperor  Alexander  also  observed  to  the  marquis :  "Retn- 
plissez  d'abord  loyalemcnt  vos  cngagevieiits  ct  aprh  je  serai  voire 
avocat,  si  vans  aurez  des  raisons  de  plaint e.  Aujotirdhni  ces 
raisons  je  ne  les  vois  pas." 

May  /^ih. — The  Chancellor,  who  leaves  for  Frankfort  to- 
morrow, wishes  the  KdlniscJic  Zcitung  to  write  somewhat  as 
follows  on  the  object  of  the  journey:  —  "The  personal  con- 
ference between  Prince  Bismarck  and  the  French  Minister  for 
P"oreign  Affairs,  the  necessity  of  which  has  been  felt  for  some 
considerable  time  past,  will  have  begun  by  the  time  these  lines 
go  to  press.  To-morrow  morning  at  8  o'clock  the  Imperial 
Chancellor,  accompanied  by  the  Councillors  of  Embassy  Bu- 
cher.  Count  Hatzfeld,  and  the  Attache  Count  Wartensleben, 
will  leave  for  Frankfort,  where  Jules  Favre  will  probably  have 
already  arrived.  Apparently  the  French  have  come  to  under- 
stand that  their  interests  urgently  require  the  removal  of  the 
suspicions  which  have  arisen  in  regard  to  their  good  faith  since 
the  arrangement  at  Versailles.  VVe  ourselves  must  also  know 
exactly  where  we  stand  with  them.  It  is  necessary  to  hasten 
the  conclusion  of  a  definitive  peace.  Some  progress  must 
finally  be  made  in  that  matter,  and  France  must  cease  to 
imagine  that  we  will  allow  ourselves  to  be  kept  dangling  in 
suspense,  or  to  be  imposed  upon  and  manoeuvred  into  an  un- 
favourable position.  She  must  respect  our  rights  and  not 
endeavour  by  pettifogging  subterfuges  to  whittle  down  or  per- 
haps, indeed,  disown  the  consequences  of  the  jireliminary  peace. 
It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  principal  subjects  to  be 
dealt  with  at  Frankfort  will  be  the  manner  of  payment  of  the 


iSjiJ  PRINCE    PKTKR   Ol.DKN'BURG  477 

war  indemnity  of  five  milliards  of  francs,  the  surrender  of  the 
German  merchant  vessels  which  were  not  condemned  by  the 
Prize  Courts  before  the  signature  of  the  preliminary  treaty, 
the  position  of  the  Eastern  Railway — which,  after  the  Ver- 
sailles arrangement,  can  no  longer  be  regarded  as  an  open 
question,  although  it  has  been  treated  as  such  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  M.  Thiers  —  and  finally  the  regulation  of  the  frontier. 
On  the  German  side,  however,  it  will  be  sought  first  of  all  to 
clear  up  the  situation,  and  hasten  the  negotiations  for  peace, 
which  have  been  brought  to  a  standstill  through  the  unjustifi- 
able demands  of  the  French.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Frank- 
fort negotiations  will  open  the  eyes  of  those  members  of  the 
French  Government  who  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  thoroughly 
understanding  the  position  of  affairs  and  in  recognising  the 
legitimacy  of  the  claims  based  upon  it  from  the  German  stand- 
point, and  their  necessity  from  the  French  standpoint.  In  all 
probability  they  will  not  fail  to  receive  a  serious  and  unequivo- 
cal reminder  of  this  necessity  from  our  side." 

May  6th.  —  Again  a  few  comic  episodes  to  break  the  monot- 
ony of  these  grave  affairs.  Prince  Peter  of  Oldenburg,  who 
seems  to  be  a  very  ancient  gentleman,  writing  from  St.  Peters- 
burg, sent  the  Chief  a  memoir  which  he  forwarded  to  the  Em- 
peror on  the  ist  of  April  (not  as  a  joke  for  All  Fools'  Day),  in 
which,  after  proclaiming  his  strictly  monarchical,  legitimist,  con- 
servative, and  religious  principles,  he  argues,  in  an  extremely 
prolix  and  nebulous  fashion,  in  favour  of  perpetual  peace,  and 
begs  the  Chancellor  to  summon  a  Conference  for  the  Abolition 
of  War.  This  magnum  opus  ought  to  be  laid  in  its  author's 
cofifin.  Wollmann  says  that  Abeken  is  in  the  habit  of  keeping 
the  envelopes  of  letters  from  the  King  in  order,  as  he  is  re- 
ported to  have  said,  "that  the  handwriting  of  his  Imperial  and 
Royal  master  should  not  be  trampled  upon  by  muddy  shoes." 
He  is  said  to  have  whole  bundles  of  these  relics  in  his  posses- 
sion. Very  touching !  Bucher  afterwards  confirmed  the  fact 
that  Abeken  had  actually  delivered  himself  of  the  above  re- 
mark. He  appears  to  have  acquired  this  tender  sentimentality 
during  his  stay  in  the  East.  He  ought  to  have  been  Councillor 
of  Embassy  to  the  Dalai  Lama. 

May  i^th.  — The  Chief  is  again  here.  Count  Wartensleben, 
who  was  with  him  at  Frankfort,  told  me  to-day  that  he  had  been 


478  AN   OBLIGING  NEGOTIATOR  [May  17 

out  driving  with  the  Chancellor  several  times  outside  the  town, 
and  while  they  were  walking  about  in  the  woods  the  latter  gave 
him  numerous  particulars  of  his  negotiations  with  the  French- 
men. "  Once,"  said  the  Count,  who  by  the  way  is  a  very  pleas- 
ant young  man,  "  in  speaking  of  the  German  negotiators  at 
Brussels,  he  remarked  to  me,  '  It  is  very  unlucky  for  those 
gentlemen  that  we  cannot  conclude  our  business  there.'  (Possi- 
bly on  account  of  the  gratuities  in  the  way  of  orders.)  '  I  am 
particularly  sorry  for  poor  Balan.  But  what  can  one  do .-'  The 
snipe  must  be  shot  where  it  rises.'  Another  time  (it  was  after 
the  first  conference  with  Favre  and  Pouyer-Quertier)  he  looked 
very  fagged  and  worried,  and  on  my  asking  him  about  it  he 
replied  that  the  French  had  proved  exceptionally  obstinate.  He 
told  me  then  how  he  managed  to  secure  himself  an  ally  against 
them.  He  said,  '  I  proposed  to  Favre  to  bring  M.  Goulard  to 
the  Conference  as  he  was  a  member  of  the  National  Assembly. 
Favre  was  at  first  greatly  surprised  at  this  suggestion,  and  would 
not  hear  of  it.  I  pointed  out  to  him,  however,  that  it  would  be 
to  his  own  advantage.  Goulard  would  feel  flattered  and  would 
be  grateful  to  him,  and  would  furthermore  as  one  of  the  nego- 
tiators support  him,  Favre,  in  the  National  Assembly.  Favre 
thereupon  consented.'  But  it  was  also  of  great  advantage  for 
the  Chief  (continued  Wartensleben),  as  when  Favre  finally  con- 
sented, the  little  gentleman  in  the  white  necktie  and  high 
stand-up  collar  was  also  grateful  to  him  for  being  admitted  to 
the  negotiations,  and  when  the  two  others  were  inclined  to 
refuse  something,  he  always  spoke  in  favour  of  giving  way  — 
it  could  be  managed,  he  would  himself  take  the  responsibility 
for  it,  he  thought  that  one  really  might  agree  to  it.  Eventually 
P'avre  thanked  the  Chief  formally  for  his  advice  to  include 
Goulard. 

May  i$t/L  —  On  the  instructions  of  the  Chief,  wrote  to 
Brass  respecting  an  article  in  No.  113  of  the  Norddcutsche 
Allgeviciiie  Zeitiaig,  that  the  Prince  did  not  consider  it  proper 
for  a  journal  which  was  praised  in  another  paper  to  reproduce 
this  praise,  and  he  positively  prohibited  all  such  misconduct  in 
future. 

May  17///. —  Yesterday  and  to-day  again  read  a  number  of 
telegrams  and  other  documents  received  and  despatched,  which 
threw  light  on  the  Frankfort  negotiations  and  recent  events  in 


ii>7i.l  NEG(JllATJONS   Al'   FRANKFORT  479 

Paris.  The  Chief  had  from  Frankfort  addressed  an  inquiry  to 
Fabrice  as  to  whether  he  believed  that  progress  had  been  made 
in  the  fusion  between  the  Comte  de  Chambord  and  the  Princes 
of  the  flouse  of  Orleans,  and  whether  it  had  a  prospect  of 
success.  Count  Arnim  thought  it  had.  The  Republican  form 
of  government  in  France  was  more  to  our  advantage,  and  there- 
fore he  would  not  oppose  it  unless  he  were  compelled  to.  A 
telegram  to  Moltke  on  the  i8th  instant  informed  him  that  the 
Chief  hoped  to  bring  about  the  conclusion  of  a  definitive  peace 
at  P^rankfort.  Some  of  the  conditions  would,  however,  be  that 
we  should  assist  as  far  as  possible  in  promoting  the  speedy 
occupation  of  Paris,  which  would  then  be  in  our  interest,  with- 
out exposing  our  men  to  danger,  and  in  particular  that  we 
should  consider  the  question  of  the  passage  of  the  French 
troops  through  our  lines,  of  calling  upon  the  Commune  to 
evacuate  the  enceinte,  of  cutting  off  the  supply  of  provisions, 
and  of  immediately  liberating  20,000  prisoners  of  war  for  use 
in  Algeria  and  the  larger  towns  of  the  south.  In  case  it  were 
possible  to  secure  at  Frankfort  a  peace  which  should  receive 
the  approbation  of  the  Emperor,  Moltke  was  requested  to  take 
the  necessary  preparatory  measures  for  the  above  purposes.  A 
short  telegram  of  the  same  day,  addressed  to  Thile  and  which 
was  to  be  communicated  to  Delbriick,  says  that  on  the  two  pre- 
ceding days  the  Chief  was  engaged  in  negotiations  for  fifteen 
hours,  and  had  sent  Favre  a  "strong  ultimatum."  Another 
telegram  reports  to  the  Emperor  that,  according  to  the  French 
Ministers,  the  stability  of  the  present  Government  will  in  a 
great  measure  depend  upon  the  speedy  conclusion  of  the 
definitive  treaty  of  peace.  On  the  nth  a  further  telegram  was 
sent  to  Moltke  saying  that,  from  Fabrice's  reports,  the  French 
generals,  believing  they  could  themselves  dispose  of  the  Com- 
munists, would  endeavour  so  to  arrange  matters  that  they  could 
dispense  with  our  cooperation.  But  in  that  case  also  it  would 
be  desirable  to  mass  our  troops  near  Paris,  as  we  could  thus 
bring  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  French  National  Assembly  in 
connection  with  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  which  would  be 
discussed  in  about  ten  days,  by  exciting  the  apprehensions  of 
that  body  as  to  the  decision  which  we  might  take  if  the  treaty 
were  rejected. 

Ao^ain  a  comic  interlude  between  the  serious  scenes  of  the 


48o  A   STRANGE   PROPOSAL  [May  17 

drama.  Fabrice  sends  a  report  from  Lieutenant  von  Mirbach, 
of  the  Guards,  at  St.  Denis,  which  reached  him  through  General 
von  Papc,  with  the  extremely  nafve  marginal  note:  "Most  obedi- 
ently submitted  for  kind  consideration  with  the  object  of  pro- 
moting the  accession  to  the  French  throne  of  Prince  Frederick 
Charles."  The  document  in  question  was  to  the  following 
effect :  Persons  of  all  ranks  and  conditions,  and  quite  recently 
an  Attache  of  the  American  Embassy,  had  inquired  whether  it 
was  true  that  Prince  Frederick  Charles  had  been  selected  as  the 
Regent  of  France.  As  far  back  as  the  winter  a  party  had  been 
formed  with  that  object.  Merchants,  bankers,  manufacturers, 
many  citizens  of  standing  and  repute,  "  including  even  noble- 
men," wished  to  offer  the  throne  to  the  Prince,  and  were  sure 
of  the  support  of  their  friends,  their  employees,  and  of  a  part 
of  the  press.  "  Influential  agents  and  leaders  of  the  National 
Guard,  and  even  some  important  members  of  the  Commune, 
are  understood  to  be  well  disposed  towards  this  plan.  The 
American  inquired  whether  a  deputation  from  this  '  Prussian ' 
party  would  be  well  received."  The  writer  had  been  informed 
by  the  "  rich  M.  Vincent,"  the  Commandant  of  the  National 
Guard  in  Versailles,  and  by  M.  de  Bastide,  that  the  same  scheme 
had  been  discussed  in  that  town.  Obviously  some  one  has  been 
playing  off  a  joke  on  the  lieutenant,  for,  although  we  live  in  an 
age  of  miracles,  it  would  be  a  miracle  of  miracles  if  a  French 
party  were  now  found  to  desire  for  their  ruler  a  nephew  of  our 
old  Master,  after  the  efforts  made  by  France  to  prevent  the 
election  as  King  of  Spain  of  the  Prince  of  Hohenzollern,  who 
is  only  a  remote  relative  of  the  Emperor  William. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Third  Army  Corps  in 
Compiegnc  has  been  informed  that  a  conference  took  place 
on  the  nth  instant  at  Soissy  between  General  von  Schlotheim 
and  General  Borel,  the  chief  of  MacMahon's  staff. 

"  MacMahon  desires  to  deliver  the  main  attack  on  Paris  on 
the  west  front  of  the  enceinte,  from  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  or 
Billancourt  against  the  bastion  of  the  Point  du  Jour.  In  order 
to  prevent  the  insurgents  from  continuing  their  resistance  in  the 
city  from  point  to  point,  he  wishes,  at  the  same  time  —  that  is, 
during  the  same  night  —  to  endeavour  to  surprise  the  north 
front,  and  seize  some  positions  in  the  north  of  Paris.  Ten  or 
twelve  thousand  men  would  be  employed  for  this  purpose,  who 


iS7i|  MACMAHUN'S   PLANS  48 1 

would  start  in  the  evening  from  Gemcvilliers,  and  march  by  way 
of  Villcneuve  la  Garonne  and  St.  Denis,  as  also  through  Epinay, 
St.  Denis,  and  Aubcrvilliers,  towards  the  gates  of  La  Chapelle 
and  La  Villette.  With  the  assistance  of  some  of  the  command- 
ants of  the  National  Guard,  with  whom  an  understanding  was 
being  entered  into,  and  by  taking  advantage  of  the  railway,  and 
of  the  numerous  conveyances  which  still  frequented  the  main 
roads,  it  was  considered  possible  to  bring  small  detachments  of 
trustworthy  troops  right  into  the  city.  In  case  the  attack  were 
repulsed,  MacMahon  binds  himself  to  withdraw  all  the  troops 
employed  by  him  along  the  same  route,  on  the  same  day,  behind 
the  rayon  on  this  side,  that  is  to  say,  behind  the  left  bank  of  the 
Seine.  By  this  means  the  proximity  of  French  and  German 
troops  for  any  length  of  time  would  be  avoided.  Permission 
could  hardly  be  refused  for  the  French  troops  to  march  through 
St.  Denis,  although  they  are  on  no  account  to  be  allowed  to 
tarry  or  post  reserves  there.  General  Borel  was  obviously  de- 
sirous of  preventing  all  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  German 
troops  and  of  the  forts  occupied  by  us,  and  gave  it  clearly  to  be 
understood  that  he  regarded  such  direct  support  as  undesirable 
on  political  grounds.  He  did  not  believe  the  insurgents  would 
venture  to  pursue  the  storming  parties  in  case  the  latter  did  not 
succeed  —  an  opinion  which  is  also  shared  here  —  and  he  posi- 
tively denied  that  the  French  Commander-in-Chief  intended  to 
bombard  the  north  front,  or  to  proceed  to  a  regular  attack  upon 
it  if  the  surprise  were  to  fail.  As,  according  to  these  overtures, 
the  French  were  prepared  to  forego  our  cooperation,  and  our 
own  forces  in  and  behind  the  forts  are  quite  sufficient,  I  have, 
as  already  reported  in  a  telegram  of  the  loth  instant,  given  up 
the  idea  of  a  concentration  of  further  troops  outside  Paris.  In 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  French  Government,  I  con- 
sider it  desirable  in  the  first  place  to  avoid  everything  that  would 
attract  the  attention  of  the  insurgents  to  the  north  front,  and 
thereby  endanger  the  success  of  the  surprise.  At  the  same 
time  we  consider  it  necessary  to  avert,  as  far  as  possible,  all  ac- 
cidental losses  to  our  troops  should  the  insurgents,  after  repel- 
ling an  attack,  open  fire  with  their  artillery  on  the  retiring 
French  columns.  In  the  event  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  and 
King  afterwards  expressly  ordering  the  German  troops  to  co- 
operate in  the  attack  on  Paris,  I  venture  to  express  the  humble 


482  AEGIDl    ENTERS  THE   FOREIGN   OFFICE  [May  20 

opinion  that,  in  view  of  the  situation  at  the  present  moment, 
when  the  resistance  is  already  organised  and  the  insurgents  are 
accustomed  to  fire,  a  simple  bombardment  of  the  enceinte  would 
scarcely  secure  our  object.  It  might  then  be  desirable  to  pro- 
ceed against  the  nearest  gates  and  bastions  with  a  battering 
train  posted  on  the  plateau  of  Romainville,  and  probably  an  oc- 
cupation of  the  enceinte  would  only  be  attended  with  decisive 
success  after  we  had  advanced  as  far  as  Buttes  Chamont,  as 
this  position  commands  the  greater  part  of  the  northern  half  of 
Paris." 

Bucher  informed  me  this  evening  that  Professor  Aegidi  of 
Bonn  has  entered  the  Foreign  Office  as  Councillor  in  charge  of 
press  matters,  and  is  to  undertake  the  appointment  of  agents, 
journalists,  and  other  such  gentlemen.  He  added :  "  Some- 
thing has  already  been  said  in  the  newspapers  on  the  subject. 
One  newspaper  contained  a  note  which  had  doubtless  been  pro- 
vided by  Aegidi  himself  to  the  effect  that  he  would  replace 
Abcken,  who  had  begun  to  grow  old  and  weak.  That  ruffied 
our  friend  very  considerably,  and  he  grew  as  red  as  a  turkey- 
cock  as  he  remarked  :  '  In  such  circumstances  one  can  only  wish 
to  retire  at  once  on  his  pension.'  "  Bucher  further  stated  that 
Aegidi  had  been  recommended  by  Keudell,  whose  cousin  he  had 
married,  and  who  had  previously  secured  him  the  jDosition  at 
Bonn  after  he  had  failed  in  Hamburg.  In  conclusion  Bucher 
said  :  "  Keudell  has  already  appointed  many  useless  people  and 
expended  large  sums  upon  them.  For  example,  some  time  ago 
he  took  up  a  Dane,  whom  he  employed  as  an  agent  and  richly 
remunerated,  but  who  did  absolutely  nothing."  I  recalled  the 
case  of  Rasch,  and  h.  said  that  he  too  had  advised  against 
emj)loying  him,  describing  him  as  a  conceited  blockhead  to 
Keudell,  who  nevertheless  sent  him  to  Garibaldi  with  20,000 
thalers. 

A  telegram  of  the  15th  instant  from  Fabrice  states  that  the 
P'rcnch  had  demanded  in  a  despatch  that  the  cordon  drawn 
round  Paris  should  be  made  complete  so  far  as  the  German 
troops  were  concerned,  as  it  was  important  that  the  leaders  of 
this  criminal  undertaking  (the  Commune)  should  not  escape 
the  hands  of  justice.  In  reply  to  the  P'rcnch  Government, 
I'abrice  said  that  Borel  had  come  to  no  understanding  with  the 
Third  Army  Corps  respecting  a  blockade  of  the  city.      If  the 


1871]  liAVAKiA  A.\n  \VL  Kri:.Mi;i;i;(j  483 

cordon  w:is  to  be  di;iwii  at  an  early  date,  it  would  have  to  be 
jircceded  by  an  arrangement  of  that  kind.  The  Chief  tele- 
grai)hed  at  once  that,  according  to  tlie  understanding  arrived 
at  in  r'raidvfort,  we  were  bound  to  com[)letely  isolate  Paris  as 
soon  as  the  l^'rench  desired  it,  to  [)erniit  the  Versailles  troops 
to  inarch  through  our  lines,  and  to  call  upon  the  Commune  to 
witlulraw  from  the  enceinte.  We  were  not  bound,  however,  to 
emphasise  this  demand  by  force  of  arms.  But  the  three  points 
in  question  must  be  carried  into  effect  by  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  as  we  should  otherwise  commit  a  breach  of  the  agree- 
ment entered  into  with  the  I^'rcnch  Government. 

It  previously  appeared  from  a  pencil  minute  by  Abekcn  on 
a  report  from  P^d^rice  that  we  had  offered,  or  that  the  French 
had  demanded,  something  more  than  this,  namely,  in  addition 
to  the  complete  isolation  of  the  city  and  the  passage  of  the 
French  troops  through  our  lines,  we  should,  in  case  the  French 
Government  asked  for  our  support,  give  it  in  the  shape  of  an 
artillery  attack  upon  the  enceinte,  and,  if  the  French  storming 
parties  were  to  fail,  use  all  our  forces  to  prevent  a  pursuit  on 
the  part  of  the  Parisians. 

UTay  20///.  —  According  to  a  report  from  Stuttgart  of  the 
17th  instant,  von  Wachter,  the  VVurtemberg  Minister  for  For- 
eign Affairs,  had  remarked  that  King  Charles  now  considered 
Wiirtemberg  not  to  have  been  properly  treated  in  connection 
with  the  Frankfort  treaty  of  peace  (on  the  previous  day  he  had 
known  nothing  about  it),  and  he  appeared  to  feel  hurt  at  this. 
The  Wiirtemberg  Minister  at  Munich  has  reported  that  the 
treatment  of  Bavaria  in  connection  with  the  conclusion  of  peace 
is  greatly  blamed  in  competent  circles  there,  and  that  Count 
Ouadt  has  been  instructed  to  give  expression  to  this  dissatis- 
faction. It  is  doubtless  Bavaria,  therefore,  that  has  altered  the 
sentiments  of  Wiirtemberg. 

Count  von  F.,  who  has  been  in  London,  has  informed  Balan 
that  the  French  Ambassador  to  the  P]nglish  Court  as  well  as 
the  Due  de  Grammont,  have  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention 
by  their  want  of  tact.  The  former  had  remarked  to  the  Count 
in  a  reproachful  tone  that  the  Socialists  in  Paris  had  been  prin- 
cipally recruited  in  Belgium.  Grammont  predicted  the  ap- 
proaching return  of  Napoleon  to  France,  and  added,  "/:/  aiors 
on  va  bientot  vicitrc  fin  a  ccttc  ridicule  chose  qic  on  appclle  la 


484  THE   INTERNATIONAL  [May  24 

Bclgiqut-y  Prince  Napoleon,  on  the  other  hand,  had  observed 
to  the  Count  that  the  neutrahty  of  Belgium  was  an  advantage 
to  France  during  the  last  war.  Baron  Baude,  the  French  Min- 
ister in  Brussels,  had  stated  in  the  presence  of  the  English 
Minister  d'Anethan  that  immediately  after  the  Versailles  troops 
had  taken  possession  of  Paris  the  National  Assembly  would 
proclaim  the  Comte  de  Chambord  as  King. 

May  2^th.  —  To-day  read  and  noted  down  the  draft  of  a 
despatch  by  the  Chief  respecting  the  International,  and  joint 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Governments  against  this  organisation 
of  the  Socialist  party.  This  is  to  be  utilised  in  the  press.  The 
despatch  is  dated  the  7th  instant,  and  is  addressed  to  Schweinitz 
in  Vienna.  Drafted  at  first  by  Abeken,  the  Chancellor  struck 
out  all  but  eight  or  ten  lines,  and  then  completed  it  in  his  own 
hand.  Thus  transformed  it  read  as  follows  :  "  The  events  that 
have  occurred  in  Paris  during  the  last  few  weeks  and  days  have 
disclosed  in  the  most  unmistakable  fashion  the  common  organi- 
sation of  the  socialistic  elements  in  European  countries,  and  the 
dangers  with  which  the  State  is  threatened  by  that  organisation. 
In  Germany  the  influence  of  the  communistic  working-class 
association  is  evident  in  the  large  centres  of  industry  in  our 
western  provinces,  and  particularly  in  the  manufacturing  dis- 
tricts of  Saxony.  Herr  Bebel,  a  member  of  Parliament,  who 
is  said  to  receive  pecuniary  support  for  his  agitation  from  the 
funds  of  the  late  King  of  Hanover,  has  in  the  Reichstag  given 
open  expression  to  the  criminal  intentions  of  his  party.  Cer- 
tain symptoms  would  go  to  show  that  in  Austria,  and  indeed  in 
Vienna  itself,  this  agitation  is  making  way  among  the  workers. 
If  your  Excellency  considers  that  the  desire,  and  indeed  the 
necessity,  of  opposing  these  movements  of  disaffection  is  felt 
by  the  Imperial  Austro-IIungarian  Government,  please  initi- 
ate a  confidential  discussion  of  ways  and  means.  In  my 
opinion,  the  first  step  would  be  an  exchange  of  views  respect- 
ing the  extent  and  direction  of  the  Socialist  organisation,  and 
the  recognition  of  the  j^rinciplc  that  Socialist  menaces  to  life 
and  property,  such  as  have  been  carried  into  execution  in  Paris, 
belong  to  the  category  of  ordinary  crime,  and  not  to  that  of 
political  offences." 

I  here  add  the  contents  of  some  other  documents  on  the 
same  subject  rccei\cd  and  despatched  later. 


1S71  I  Diri.oMATlC   AC.TlUN  485 

Writing  on  the  3rd  of  June,  R.  reported  that  the  Kmj)eror 
Alexander  said  to  him  that  he  intended  to  discuss  with  the 
I^Lmperor  WilHani  and  the  Chief  the  cjuestion  of  the  means  by 
which  the  European  monarchies  could  be  protected  from  the 
Socialist  danger,  and  in  particular  from  the  International.  In 
his  opinion  all  the  Governments  of  Europe  should  unite  and 
assist  one  another  in  the  struggle  against  this  enemy.  The 
Emperor  will  have  a  memorial  on  the  subject  drawn  up  by  the 
Minister  of  Justice,  in  which,  in  particular,  evidence  will  be 
adduced  with  the  object  of  jiroving  that  the  members  of  these 
socialistic  associations  should  be  treated,  not  as  political  of- 
fenders, but  as  ordinary  criminals. 

During  the  second  week  of  June,  Bucher  was  much  occupied 
in  studying  the  International,  and  despatches  drawn  up  by  him 
were  sent  to  Florence,  Brussels,  Vienna,  and  London.  These 
were  intended  to  pave  the  way  for  a  joint  intervention  of  the 
Governments  against  the  agitation  of  the  Communists.  That 
addressed  to  Brassier  St.  Simon  was  dated  the  9th  of  June,  and 
that  to  Bernstorff  the  14th.  The  following  passage  occurred 
in  the  former:  "  However  much  the  ultimate  aims  of  the  revo- 
lutionary elements  may  differ  in  various  countries,  according  to 
the  conditions  of  the  latter,  yet  their  immediate  purpose  is  in 
every  instance  the  same,  namely,  the  overthrow  of  the  existing 
order  in  the  State.  It  therefore  follows  that  all  existing  Gov- 
ernments have  a  common  interest  in  opposing  them.  When 
the  State  is  defeated  by  the  revolutionary  movement  in  any  one 
country,  as  was  the  case  in  Paris  for  two  months,  its  power  will 
be  reduced  in  all  other  countries,  and  that  of  its  opponents  pro- 
portionately increased." 

On  the  1 2th  of  June,  the  Chief's  answer,  in  which  he  gave 
an  account  of  the  steps  already  taken,  was  despatched  to  R. 
He  had  first  sent  the  enclosed  despatch  to  General  von  Schwei- 
nitz,  and  afterwards  caused  the  latter  to  speak  to  Count  Andrassy, 
who  (perhaps  in  consequence  of  a  private  request  on  the  part 
of  the  Chief)  had  already  mooted  the  subject  confidentially,  in 
the  same  way  as  he  had  done  to  Count  Beust.  He  (the  Chief) 
then  had  copies  of  the  despatch  sent  to  the  representatives  of 
the  Empire  in  Brussels,  Florence,  Dresden,  and  London,  with 
the  addition  in  each  instance  of  some  further  observations  more 
applicable  to  the  special  conditions  of  the  country  in  question. 


486  bp:ust'S  suggestion 

In  Brussels  he  had  had  attention  called  to  the  fact  that  Belgium, 
on  account  of  its  geographical  position  and  its  condition  in  re- 
gard to  languages  and  industry,  was  most  exposed  to  danger ; 
that  in  the  year  1868,  on  the  occasion  of  the  first  International 
Congress  of  the  Working  Classes,  Belgium  was  the  scene  of  the 
first  proclamation  of  Communism ;  and  that,  according  to  the 
statement  of  the  leaders  of  the  Paris  Commune,  Belgium  had 
been  chosen  as  the  next  field  for  their  practical  operations. 
In  Florence  he  pointed  out  that  the  great  associations  which 
kept  up  disturbances  in  Italy,  if  they  did  not  follow  the  same 
ends  as  the  Communists,  were  still  at  one  with  them  in  their 
immediate  task,  namely,  the  overthrow  of  the  existing  govern- 
ment and  form  of  State,  and  were  intimately  associated  with 
them,  as  was  evident  from  the  appearance  of  the  Garibaldians 
in  Paris.  In  Dresden  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  industrial 
districts  of  Saxony  furnished  the  largest  contingent  of  Socialist 
members  to  the  Reichstag.  And,  finally,  in  London  it  was 
shown  that  there  the  Communist  associations,  which  had  in  the 
fifties  given  rise  to  criminal  trials  in  Germany  and  France, 
together  with  the  international  union  of  the  working  classes, 
an  offspring  of  that  association,  were  founded  in  London, 
which  was  their  official  centre. 

Count  Waldersee  (at  present  interim  representative  of  Ger- 
many at  Versailles)  has  been  instructed  to  inform  M.  Jules 
P'avre,  in  connection  with  his  circular  of  the  6th  instant,  of  our 
readiness  to  cooperate.  All  these  communications  contained 
as  an  enclosure  an  article  from  the  Ti))ics,  apparently  based  on 
official  information. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  Bcust  suggested  that  a  "  Note  " 
should  be  sent  asking  for  information  respecting  the  Socialist 
organisation.  The  Chief  believes  that  Beust's  proposal  con- 
temj)lates  "blue-book  lucubrations,  which  would  only  hamj^er 
the  attainment  of  the  real  object  in  view,"  as  it  would  give 
warning  to  the  Socialists  and  furnish  the  luiropean  press  with  a 
theme  for  denouncing  new  "  Karlsbad  resolutions,"  and,  to 
judge  from  the  bias  disj:)layed  in  other  comj^licated  compilations 
of  a  similar  character,  the  yVustrian  Chancellor  would  not  be 
above  making  caj)ital  out  (A  it  for  the  benefit  of  his  own  popu- 
larity. The  Minister  was  therefore  to  inform  him  that  we 
were  prepared,  without  any  officird  demand  on  his  part,  to  fur- 


TlIK   AITITUDE   OF   ENGLAND  487 

nish  him  with  the  results  of  our  observations  upon  the  connection 
l)ctween  the  coniniunistic  j)arties.  A  letter,  dated  the  26th  of 
June,  and  addressed  to  S.,  contains  the  following  further  re- 
marks :  "  I  find  him  (Haron  von  Gablenz)  much  more  disjiosed 
to  meet  our  views  in  the  matter  of  joint  action  against  this 
danger  (the  socialistic  agitation)  than  has  hitherto  been  the 
case  in  Vienna.  He  was  of  opinion  that  the  Emperor  Francis 
Joseph  was  very  favourably  inclined  towards  the  understanding 
we  had  suggested.  ...  I  have  not  concealed  from  him,  how- 
ever, that  Count  Beust's  desire  to  see  this  suggestion  embodied 
in  the  form  of  a  *  Note  '  has,  to  some  extent,  cooled  our  zeal." 

B.  reports,  under  date  of  the  ist  of  June,  that  Baron  d'Ane- 
than  is  in  perfect  agreement  with  the  proposal  of  the  Chief  for 
an  exchange  of  communications  on  the  extent  and  direction  of 
the  socialistic  agitation,  and  also  as  to  the  recognition  of  the 
principle  that  socialistic  threats  against  life  and  property  should 
be  included  in  the  category  of  ordinary  crimes.  He  further- 
more considers  it  absolutely  necessary  that  the  Governments 
should  unite  in  establishing  an  international  principle,  and,  act- 
ing on  that  basis,  should  proceed  against  the  revolutionary  agi- 
tation with  inexorable  rigour.  The  Belgian  Minister  strongly 
condemned  the  attitude  of  England,  and  expressed  the  appre- 
hension that  it  would  be  difficult  to  procure  the  adhesion  of 
the  English  Government  to  a  common  understanding. 

There  are  grounds  for  believing  that  the  motive  for  raising 
the  whole  subject  was  less  the  danger  of  the  socialist  organisa- 
tion (which,  however,  was  strongly  emphasised  by  me  in  the 
press  under  instructions  from  the  Chief,  and  afterwards  on  my 
own  account  in  the  pamphlet  Ziir  Geschichte  der  Intcrnatioiialc, 
Leipzig,  1872)  than  the  opportunity  which  would  be  thereby 
afforded  of  bringing  all  the  Powers  together  for  the  considera- 
tion, in  common,  of  one  question ;  and,  in  particular,  of  pro- 
ducing a  rapprochement  between  two  of  them.  In  other  words, 
the  main  object  of  the  manoeuvre  was  to  maintain  the  antago- 
nism between  Russia  and  France  —  the  land  of  the  Commune, 
by  exaggerating  the  danger  of  the  International,  and  to  win 
over  Austria. 

I  now  return  to  the  chronological  order  of  my  diary,  observ- 
ing at  the  same  time  that  some  of  the  most  important  notes  and 
instructions  which  I  received  from  the  Chief  at  that  time  can- 


488  NEWSPAPER   POLEMICS  [JI'M:  5 

not  be  reproduced,  as  the  slips  upon  which  they  were  written 
have  been  mislaid. 

Maj'  30///.  —  The  National  Zeitimg,  commenting  in  an  ex- 
ceptionally violent  and  discourteous  tone  upon  an  article  in 
Brass'  paper,  spoke  of  "  the  Mamelukes  of  the  NorddeutscJie 
Allgemeine  Zeitimg^  of  a  "coarseness  and  boorishness,  that 
can  only  be  explained  by  the  habits  of  literary  menials,"  and 
of  the  "  tone  of  the  Imperial  Chancellor  to  which  the  anti- 
Parliamentary  press,  watching  his  every  gesture,  and  exhibiting 
the  zeal  of  a  retriever,  barks  in  eager  response."  The  Chief 
wished  to  have  a  reply  written  to  this  article,  somewhat  to  the 
following  effect:  It  was  not  necessary  to  enter  into  the  attacks 
made  upon  the  newspaper.  The  specimens  quoted  from  the 
organ  of  MM.  Bamberger  and  Lasker  would  suffice  to  show 
that  persons  who  gave  vent  to  their  own  irritation  in  that  style 
were  hardly  entitled  to  complain  of  the  manner  in  which  others 
expressed  themselves.  But  when  the  article  charges  the  Impe- 
rial Chancellor  with  adopting  an  unseemly  attitude  towards  the 
Reichstag,  whereas  his  attitude  has  been  eminently  prudent 
and  patriotic,  when  it  accuses  him  of  "  domineering  over  men," 
and  of  "demanding  blind  submission,"  it  may  well  be  asked 
what  part  of  the  verbatim  reports  has  given  rise  to  these  invec- 
tives. (From  this  point  on  dictation.)  "We,  who  have  not 
left  these  reports  unread,  as  the  author  of  this  philippic  would 
appear  to  have  done,  fail  to  find  anything  in  the  expressions 
of  the  Imperial  Chancellor,  but  a  declaration,  for  which  he  gave 
his  reasons,  that  the  motion  under  discussion  was  inacceptable, 
and  that  if  it  were  maintained  he  could  not  undertake  the 
responsibility  for  the  administration  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  during 
the  period  of  provisional  government.  If  any  one  discovers, 
in  what  he  said,  anything  which  would  appear  to  justify  in  any 
way  the  charges  in  question,  we  would  ask  him  to  remember 
that  a  tone  of  bitterness  and  violence  was  first  adopted  by  the 
Reichstag,  and  exactly  by  that  party  which  takes  credit  for 
l)rudence  and  patriotism  —  and  in  general  not  without  justifi- 
cation. We  at  least  fail  to  recognise  as  models  of  prudence 
and  patriotism  the  sallies  of  Herr  Bamberger  in  the  last  debate, 
in  which  he  fell  upon  the  Post  Office  officials.  'When  all  is 
said,  \vc  are  curs,'  and  '  Look  out  for  the  whij),'  were  some  of 
the   flowers   of   rhetoric  with  which    he  presented  the  Govern- 


iSji)  TllK    ROMAN    gUKSTlON  4.S9 

mcnt  —  aiul  Ilorr  von  llovorbcck's  feats  of  eloquence  (jn  the 
same  occasion  leave  us  in  the  same  difficulty." 

Jlfdj' ^\s/.  —  Wrote  to  Brass  to-day  on  the  instructions  of 
the  Chief  respectin>,^  the  leading  article  in  No.  124  of  the  Noni- 
dcntscJic  Allooiu-inc  Ziitiiiig,  which  struck  the  Prince  as  too 
vehement  in  its  attack  u{)on  the  National  Liberals.  I  recom- 
mended greater  moderation  and  dignity.  In  reply,  Brass  ex- 
cuses himself  on  the  ground  that  he  received  that  article  from 
an  official  source,  and  was,  therefore,  in  a  dilemma  —  which  is 
very  probable. 

A  letter  is  to  be  sent  to  Vienna  to-day,  saying  that  Favre 
had  stated  at  Frankfort  that  a  proposal  from  locust  in  favour 
of  the  Po})c  had  been  submitted  to  the  Versailles  Government. 
This  was  made  in  such  a  form  as  to  give  rise  to  the  inference 
that  it  was  in  harmony  with  the  intentions  of  the  Emperor 
William,  as  it  referred  to  intimations  from  Count  Bray,  and 
Bavaria  would  not,  presumably,  adopt  a  policy  on  that  ques- 
tion which  deviated  from  that  of  the  German  Empire.  S.  is 
then  requested  to  make  guarded  inquiries  as  to  whether  the 
Bavarian  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  has  taken  any,  and  if  so, 
what,  steps  in  that  direction.  Of  course,  there  was  no  doubt 
as  to  Bray's  personal  views  in  the  matter,  but  only  a  desire 
that,  should  he  have  actually  taken  such  steps  in  Vienna,  no 
room  should  have  been  left  for  misconception  as  to  the  per- 
sonal and  individual  character  of  his  action.  The  German  For- 
eign Office  had  had  no  share  in  it,  and  "we  have,"  the  letter 
concludes,  "  avoided,  up  to  the  present,  expressing  any  opinion 
on  the  Roman  question,  or  on  the  attitude  of  the  German 
Empire  towards  it." 

Jujie  ^tJi.  —  Wrote  an  article,  dated  from  Darmstadt,  for  the 
KobiiscJic  Zeitung.  The  Chief  gave  me  the  information.  The 
article  ran  as  f ollow^s  :  — 

"  However  much  our  new  Ministers  may  adapt  themselves 
to  circumstances,  it  is  nevertheless  no  secret  that  the  feeling 
in  the  spheres  above  them  still  continues  unfavourable  to  the 
new  state  of  things  in  Germany,  and  that  it  is  sought  here  to 
preserve  as  much  as  possible  of  the  old  arrangements  without 
causing  too  great  offence.  Whatever  the  spontaneous  initia- 
tive of  the  powers  that  be  fails  to  do  in  this  direction  is  sup- 
plied by  the  very  considerable  influence  of  Prince  Alexander, 


490         '  AUSTRIAN   DirLOMATS  [June  7 

who  is  still  associated  with  those  circles  in  Vienna  which  in 
German  affairs  have  learnt  nothing  and  forgotten  nothing,  and 
which  now  as  formerly  exercise  a  kind  of  co-regency  that  makes 
itself  felt  in  many  different  ways.  A  case  in  point  is  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Legation  in  Vienna,  which  has  long  since  lost 
all  importance,  particularly  since  the  foundation  of  the  Ger- 
man Empire  through  the  Versailles  Treaties.  We  hear  on 
good  authority  that  the  present  holder  of  that  office,  Heinrich 
von  Gagern,  the  whilom  President  of  the  Frankfort  Parliament, 
requested  several  months  ago  to  be  allowed  to  retire  from  his 
post,  at  the  same  time  recommending  that  it  should  be  abol- 
ished, but  he  received  a  negative  answer.  He  is  now  under- 
stood to  have  repeated  his  request  and  recommendation  to  the 
new  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  —  as  we  are  informed  — 
Herr  von  Lindelhof  was  not  unfavourably  disposed,  particu- 
larly as  there  is  no  prospect  of  the  representative  body  con- 
tinuing to  vote  supplies  for  this  post,  which  has  become  purely 
ornamental,  as  a  necessary  item  of  expenditure.  In  the  highest 
quarters,  however,  a  different  view  prevails,  which  is  evidently 
due  to  the  Prince,  and  if  Gagern  is  permitted  to  resign  he  will 
have  a  successor.  It  is  understood  that  in  these  circumstances 
the  prospective  successor  would  be  von  Biegeleben,  the  Prince's 
intimate  friend,  a  statesman  as  Ultramontane  as  could  be  found 
in  the  P^piscopal  Palace  at  Mayence,  and  as  anti-Prussian  as 
could  be  desired  anywhere.  I  report  this  merely  as  a  symp- 
tom of  the  sentiments  prevailing  in  competent  quarters  here. 
Given  adequate  power,  mischief  can  be  wrought  even  without 
a  Legation,  but  when  that  element  is  lacking,  all  diplomatic 
])osts  become  merely  ornamental,  not  to  say  ridiculous." 

Jnyic  Jth.  —  According  to  a  communication  from  Bernstorff 
of  the  3rd  instant,  Brunnow  reports  that  Napoleon  has  greatly 
aged  and  become  very  infirm.  He  speaks  with  gratitude  of  our 
]^m])eror  and  without  hatred  of  Prussia;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  he  is  strongly  incensed  against  Thiers  and  Favre,  who 
will  be  overtaken  by  the  just  vengeance  of  Heaven  for  having 
brought  about  the  overthrow  of  the  iMnpire.  Their  j^unish- 
ment  has  already  commenced  in  the  severe  conditions  to  which 
they  have  been  compelled  to  allow  the  country  to  be  subjected. 
According  to  this  report,  the  lunpcror  did  not  express  any  hope 
of  his  restoration.     The   I'^mpress,  however,  is  full  of  courage, 


1871)  Till':    I'.ON'AI'AUriSlS  491 

a\u\  has  ^roat  expectations.  The  Honapartists  share  her  views. 
Some  of  them  look  forward  to  a  restoration  of  Napoleon  ;  and 
others,  thou,i,^h  a  minority,  to  the  re;;ency  of  the  I^mpress. 
Mopes  are  entertained  that  althou^di  (Germany  might  not  give 
any  direct  assistance  to  a  restoration,  it  would  moderate  the 
conditions  of  peace  if  Napoleon  were  reelected.  In  case  of  a 
plebiscite  also,  Germany  might  be  helpful  in  the  occupied  prov- 
inces. Some  are  in  favour  of  a  national  vote,  as  they  feel  sure 
of  the  rural  pojnilation ;  while  others  are  for  violent  measures, 
relying  upon  180,000  soldiers.  In  their  oi)inion,  the  main  ])()int 
is  that  neither  the  Comte  de  Chambord  nor  any  one  of  the 
Orleans  has  any  prospect  of  success. 

The  following  communication  was  sent  to  Fabricc  on  the 
4th  inst.  :  "As  the  Government  of  which  M.  Thiers  is  the  head 
has  concluded  a  definitive  peace  with  us,  it  is  in  our  interest, 
and  in  that  of  our  international  position,  to  recognise  only  the 
present  Government  in  France,  so  long  as  no  other  government 
has  been  evolved  out  of  it  in  a  legal  way  which  would  secure 
for  the  future  the  execution  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  and  the 
maintenance  of  the  present  relations  between  the  two  countries. 
The  present  Government  is  bound  by  its  past,  and  by  its  entire 
position,  to  fulfil  its  obligations  towards  us,  and  it  therefore 
finds  a  support  in  Germany.  Any  other  Government  which 
may  seize  power  in  an  irregular  way  may  possibly  seek  its 
salvation  by  sacrificing  to  popularity  the  Treaties  concluded 
with  us,  and  in  that  manner  force  us  to  renew  the  war.  We 
have,  therefore,  not  only  an  interest  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
present  Government,  but  also  the  right  to  withhold  our  recogni- 
tion from  any  violent  change  in  the  form  of  government,  how- 
ever brought  about,  and  to  make  our  decision  dependent  upon 
the  guarantees  provided  for  our  treaty  interests.  It  must, 
furthermore,  be  remembered  that  everything  calculated  to  dis- 
turb order,  which  is  scarcely  restored  as  yet,  must  prejudicially 
affect  the  power  of  France  to  meet  its  obligations  towards  us 
within  the  periods  laid  down  in  the  Treaty,  whoever  may  be  at 
the  head  of  affairs,  and  that  we  must  therefore  desire  to  avoid 
every  crisis  w^hich  would  lead  to  a  renewal  of  civil  war.  You 
will  please  express  yourself  in  this  sense  to  the  French  Govern- 
ment, and  make  it  clear  to  them  beyond  all  question  that  in 
those  portions  of  the  country  which  we  occupy  we  shall  recog- 


492  MR.   WASIIBURNE'S   VIEWS  [June  19 

nise  no  alteration  in  the  form,  and  no  change  in  the  principal 
holders  of  power,  which  does  not  arise  out  of  the  existing  situa- 
tion in  the  regular  way,  and  in  accordance  with  the  laws  now 
in  force.  We  are  giving  evidence  of  the  confidence  which  we 
repose  in  the  present  Government  by  rapidly  reducing  the  Ger- 
man forces  in  the  occupied  districts.  Should  new  movements 
in  France  force  us  to  doubt  the  maintenance  of  the  peace  which 
has  been  concluded,  your  Excellency  is  aware  that  within  four- 
teen days  we  could  again  put  the  same  army  in  the  field  which 
we  had  in  France  last  winter." 

June  1 1  ///.  —  Fabrice  telegraphed  the  day  before  yesterday 
to  the  Chief  stating,  i7iter  alia,  that  the  rapid  withdrawal  of  our 
troops  outside  Paris  and  elsewhere  before  the  payment  of  the 
first  half  milliard  was  obviously  exercising  an  influence  upon 
the  temper  and  behaviour  of  the  population,  w^hose  attitude 
would  grow  more  and  more  confident,  if  not  hostile,  as  the 
evacuation  proceeded.  Washburne  had  confidently  advised 
prudence,  and  in  speaking  to  Holstein  had  described  the 
sentiments  of  the  Parisians  towards  the  Germans  as  doubtful, 
adding  that  the  Government  lacked  the  power,  and  perhaps  the 
will,  to  counteract  this  tendency,  and  that  the  protection  of  the 
Germans  in  Paris  depended  solely  upon  the  German  garrisons 
still  in  the  neighbourhood.  No  reliance  could  be  placed  upon 
the  future  development  of  affairs  in  France.  The  first  two 
milliards  would  be  paid  in  order  to  give  Germany  a  sense  of 
security.  The  balance  of  three  milliards,  however,  would  not 
be  paid— as  had  been  openly  stated  by  personages  in  authority, 
not  soldiers  —  while,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  determina- 
tion to  recover  the  ceded  territories. 

The  Chief  thereupon  telegraphed  to  the  Saxon  General 
yesterday  that  neither  were  we  bound  nor  did  we  intend  to 
reduce  the  zone  of  occupation,  and  that  we  should  certainly  not 
evacuate  the  forts  before  the  date  specified  in  the  Treaty  of 
Frankfort.  If  we  reduced  the  number  of  our  troops  in  the 
occupied  districts,  it  was  not  that  we  trusted  France,  but  only 
that  we  had  confidence  in  our  own  rapidity  of  mobilisation. 
It  was  possible  that  the  French  would  not  carry  out  the  treaty 
of  peace  in  full,  and  even  that  they  intended  to  attack  us,  but 
as  soon  as  the  mobilisatitju  of  the  h'rench  forces  rendered  the 
latter  eventuality  probable,  or  if  there  were  a  wilful  delay  in  the 


iSjiJ  KAVRE'S   ••IMrLDKXCK"  493 

l);Lymcnts  to  be  made,  a  force  of  600,000  could,  within  a  fort- 
nit;ht,  be  put  into  the  field  between  Metz  and  Paris.  He, 
Fabrice,  sliould  permit  no  doubt  to  exist  upon  this  point.  It 
was  cheaper  to  strengthen  our  forces  outside  Paris  as  required 
than  to  leave  them  there  for  an  indefinite  period.  There  was 
no  disposition  to  conceal  the  possibility  of  a  renewal  of  the  war, 
but  on  the  other  hand  such  a  renewal  was  not  feared. 

JiDic  \c)tJi.  —  This  morning  read  a  number  of  telegrams 
which  have  been  exchanged  between  Waldersee  and  the  Chief, 
from  which  it  would  almo.st  seem  as  if  it  might  come  to  hostili- 
ties if  the  French  only  had  sufficient  power.  On  the  evening 
of  the  15th  instant  their  troops  stationed  near  Lilas  pushed 
forward  their  outposts  to  within  twenty-five  paces  of  ours,  and 
on  ground  that  belonged  to  us.  The  Chief,  upon  advices  to 
this  effect  from  Waldersee  on  the  i6th  instant,  immediately 
instructed  him  to  demand  the  punishment  of  the  officers  who 
had  been  guilty  of  this  breach  of  existing  arrangements,  adding 
that  our  men  had  received  instructions  to  attack  the  French 
troops  posted  within  rifle  range  of  them  if  the  latter  did  not 
withdraw  in  the  course  of  the  day.  He  would  also  immediately 
advise  the  King  to  withdraw  the  orders  for  the  recall  of  all  our 
troops  until  satisfaction  had  been  received.  A  telegram  to  the 
like  effect  was  at  the  same  time  despatched  to  Favre.  It  con- 
cluded as  follows  :  '^Les  protestations  du  coviviandant  alleviaiid 
contrc  cette  violation  des  stipulations  en  vignenr  sont  rcstees  in- 
frnctciises.  Je  rcgirtte  vivenient  nn  incident  qui  trouble  les  rela- 
tions de  confiance  mutuelle  qui  commencaie)it  a  nattre.'"  The 
Frenchmen  were  greatly  frightened  by  this  Quos  ego,  particu- 
larly MacMahon,  who  immediately  ordered  the  withdrawal  of 
the  troops  from  a  position  in  which  they  had  no  right  to  be. 

Favre  has  declared  that  Pouyer  Ouertier  cannot  pay  the  first 
half  milliard  before  the  15th  of  July,  as  the  Ministry  of  Finance 
has  been  destroyed  (by  the  Communists).  Moreover,  the  res- 
toration of  order,  mentioned  in  Article  7  of  the  treaty,  has  not 
yet  been  completed.  In  a  telegram  sent  to  Waldersee  the  day 
before  yesterday  the  Chief  described  these  observations  as 
"impudent,"  and  instructed  Waldersee  to  tell  Favre  that  if 
the  money  is  not  paid  on  the  ist  of  July,  France  will  have 
failed  to  fulfil  its  obligations  under  the  article  in  question. 

Waldersee  further  reported  the  day  before  yesterday  that  he 


494  A   RUSSIAN   DIPLOMATIC   REPORT  [June  23 

had  presented  his  credentials  to  Favre,  and  was  then  received 
by  Thiers.  His  reception  by  both  gentlemen  was  exceedingly 
polite  and  amiable.  A  6  per  cent,  voluntary  loan  of  two  mil- 
liards, with  a  15  per  cent,  payment  on  account,  was  to  be  placed 
on  the  market  on  the  26th  of  June.  With  the  money  raised  by 
this  means,  and  with  some  other  funds  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Government,  a  payment  of  375  million  francs  would  be  made. 
Thiers  assured  him  that  with  the  best  will  in  the  world  he 
could  not  promise  him  the  complete  payment  of  the  first  half 
milliard  before  the  loth  of  July,  as  nobody  could  foresee  at  the 
present  moment  how  the  subscriptions  would  go.  He,  Walder- 
see,  had,  however,  insisted  upon  the  ist  of  July,  as  otherwise  we 
should  be  driven  to  question  the  good  will  of  the  French,  and 
moreover — owing  to  certain  financial  arrangements — we  re- 
quired the  money  at  that  date.  Thiers  replied  that  he  both 
desired  and  hoped  to  be  able  to  begin  the  payment  on  the  1st, 
but  it  was  a  physical  impossibility  for  him  to  collect  the  whole 
sum  before  the  loth.  Waldersee  had  not  stated  that  the  pro- 
posal would  be  accepted  in  Berlin. 

The  Chief  thereupon  telegraphed  the  same  day  that  the 
proposal  of  M.  Thiers  was  incompatible  with  the  7th  Article  of 
the  Frankfort  Treaty  of  Peace,  and  could  not,  therefore,  be 
accepted  without  counter-concessions.  The  telegram  continues: 
"Besides,  the  understanding  at  first  was  that  the  occupation  of 
Paris  should  be  taken  as  the  term  for  this  payment,  and  it  was 
only  in  consequence  of  a  concession  made  by  us  out  of  com- 
plaisance that  the  expression  '  retablisscnicnt  dc  I'autorite'  was 
inserted  in  the  French  draft  of  the  treaty.  Furthermore, 
through  an  oversight,  the  payment  of  the  following  125  mil- 
lions was  fixed  in  the  French  draft  at  sixty  days  after  the  pay- 
ment of  the  375  millions,  instead  of  thirty  days,  or  sixty  days 
after  the  occupation  of  Paris,  as  M.  Pouyer  Quertier  himself 
had  proposed.  In  the  presence  of  the  unconciliatory  attitude 
which  the  French  negotiators  now  manifest,  we  see  no  occasion 
to  show  them  any  favour  without  counter-concessions.  If,  there- 
fore, the  French  Government  does  not  make  the  payment  pro- 
vided for  by  the  treaty  on  the  ist  of  July,  we  must  regard  it  as 
a  failure  to  fulfil  its  obligations  under  Article  7.  I  beg  your 
Ivxccllcncy  to  leave  M.  Favre  in  no  doubt  u]ion  this  point."' 

J?t)ii'  20th.  —  Again   an  amusing  interlude  provided  by  the 


iSyiJ  A    SAXON    ACniATOK  ^(j^ 

diplomatic  world.  Von  K.,  a  Russian  envoy  abroad,  has  ad- 
dressed to  the  i'hnperor  Alexander  a  long  memorial  dated  the 
25th  of  May,  or  the  6th  of  June  accordinf;  to  our  calendar. 
This  document,  which  deals  with  the  Socialist  parties  and 
agitation  in  Germany,  includes  the  following,  among  a  number 
of  other  extraordinary  whimsicalities:  "  Wuttke  (our  Leipzig 
Professor  and  puzzlehead),  un  dcs pilicrs  repiiblicains  en  Saxc,  a 
dit  dcrnicremcnt  assez  haut  four  etre  entcndu  a  Drcsdc :  'Dans 
cinq  ans  il  ny  aura  plus  de  princes. '  "  Most  wonderful  and 
admirable  knowledge  of  affairs  and  men  !  Wuttke,  a  pillar  and 
prophet  of  Saxon  Republicanism !  And  this  is  the  sort  of  stuff 
which  a  diplomatist  reports  with  a  serious  face ! 

June  22nd.  —  Under  instructions  from  the  Chief  utilised  in 
the  press  the  main  ideas  of  a  memorial  written  by  Bucher  on 
the  Paris  Commune,  and  the  reasons  why  it  was  not  supported 
in  the  provinces.  This  document,  which  was  dated  the  17th 
instant,  was  forwarded  to  Vienna.  .  .  . 

The  following  appears  in  the  VolksseiUmg  to-day :  "  We 
have  been  requested  to  publish  the  following  letter :  '  Desir- 
ing an  audience  of  his  Serene  Highness  Prince  Bismarck,  I 
addressed  him  as  he  was  passing"  in  the  street,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  permission  to  present  myself.  Hardly  had  I 
spoken  to  the  Prince  before  two  detectives  laid  hold  of  me  by 
both  arms  and  wanted  to  arrest  me.  In  spite  of  my  protest 
that  I  was  under  no  obligation  to  accompany  two  civilians,  and, 
moreover,  that  I  had  committed  no  offence,  I  was  dragged 
through  the  streets  to  the  police  station  in  the  Taubenstrasse. 
I  was  then  taken  in  charge  of  a  policeman  to  the  Molkenmarkt, 
where  I  was  kept  in  custody  for  the  whole  night,  being  liberated 
at  1 1  o'clock  next  morning,  with  the  remark  that  my  arrest  was 
doubtless  due  to  a  misunderstanding.  I  leave  the  whole  affair 
to  the  judgment  of  the  public.     H.  L.  Back.'  " 

June  2yd.  —  Called  this  morning  to  the  Chief,  who  showed 
me  the  above  letter.  He  was  in  good  humour,  and  while  dress- 
ing he  gave  me  the  following  account  of  the  incident :  "  As  I 
was  leaving  the  Reichstag  on  my  way  home  an  exceptionally 
greasy  individual,  evidently  a  Jew,  came  up  and  said  he  wished 
to  have  an  audience  of  me.  I  declined,  but  he  remained  at  my 
side  and  kept  on  talking  to  me;  I  would  surely  not  refuse  a  Ger- 
man waiter  such  a  request,  as  he  had  something  of  importance 


496  M.    dp:   VALI.OX'S   "REVF:LAnONS"  [June  23 

to  communicate  to  me.  Yes,  but  I  do  though,  I  repHcd,  I  never 
give  audiences  to  German  authors.  He  continued  to  follow  me, 
however  (with  the  fly-like  persistence,  obtrusiveness,  and  fool- 
hardiness  of  the  young  Jew),  and  while  he  kept  on  talking  he 
pressed  so  close  to  me  that  he  trod  on  one  of  my  spurs, 
breaking  it  off.  I  wheeled  round  and  was  about  to  chastise  him 
physically,  when  the  two  policemen  took  him  in  charge.  He 
really  was  exceptionally  greasy ;  one  could  have  scraped  the  pot- 
house fat  off  him."  Wrote  a  paragraph  on  the  subject  for 
the   papers. 

Called  again  to  the  Minister  later  on,  and  received  instruc- 
tions for  an  article  on  certain  pretended  revelations  of  a  M.  de 
Vallon  in  the  Versailles  Assembly,  which  had  been  commented 
upon  in  the  National  Zcitiing.  He  read  through  and  corrected 
this  article  before  it  was  sent  off.  In  giving  me  the  information, 
he  said  :  "  Favre  has  here  made  several  erroneous  statements. 
He  gave  an  inaccurate  account  of  the  facts  in  his  speech  of  the 
19th  instant,  in  which  he  referred  to  Vallon's  assertion  that  he, 
Favre,  had  told  him  I  had  been  disposed  at  Ferrieres  to  con- 
clude peace  on  the  cession  of  Strasburg  and  its  environs.  He 
declared  that  at  that  time  there  had  been  no  negotiations  re- 
specting peace,  though  M.  de  Bismarck  had,  indeed,  told  him 
that  it  would  be  possible  to  negotiate  on  the  conditions  indicated 
by  M.  de  Vallon  in  the  National  Assembly.  Say,  with  reference 
to  that  point,  that  the  French  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  had 
thereby  given  evidence  of  a  defective  memory.  Or,  better  still, 
say :  It  is  quite  conceivable  that  all  the  details  of  several  long 
interviews  have  not  been  retained  with  equal  clearness  by  all 
those  concerned  in  them.  According  to  the  reports  now  before 
us,  the  question  of  the  armistice  occupied  the  first  place,  as  a 
means  of  preparing  the  way  for  peace  through  the  convocation 
of  a  National  Assembly;  but  the  peace  itself  was  also  discussed. 
M.  h^ivre  himself  says  in  his  report  of  September  last  to  the 
Government  of  National  Defence,  describing  the  occurrences  at 
Haute  Maison.  There  we  read:  'After  I  had  made  known  the 
intentions  of  the  French  Government  by  means  of  a  circular,  I 
desired  to  ascertain  those  of  the  Prussian  Minister.  It  seemed 
to  me  out  of  the  question  that  two  nations,  without  first  ascer- 
taining each  other's  views,  should  continue  a  war  which,  notwith- 
standing its  advantages  for  the  victor,  would  be  a  cause  of  great 


1871J  Till':    TREATMENT   OF   GERMANS   IN   FRANCE  497 

suffering.  Ikought  about  by  the  will  of  one  individual,  this  war 
had  no  longer  any  raison  cf  ctrc  when  France  had  again  become 
her  own  mistress.  I  vouched  for  her  love  of  peace,  and  at  the 
same  time  for  her  resolve  not  to  accept  any  conditions  which 
would  transform  this  peace  into  a  short  and  threatening  armis- 
tice. M.  de  Bismarck  replied  that  if  he  were  convinced  of  the 
possibility  of  such  a  peace,  he  would  sign  it  immediately.' 

"  On  this  occasion  M.  Favre  also  ascertained  the  conditions 
put  forward  by  Germany,  and  these  were  by  no  means  restricted 
to  the  cession  of  Strasburg  and  its  environs.  M.  Favre's  above- 
mentioned  report  goes  on  to  say  :  '  On  my  pressing  him  very 
strongly  with  respect  to  the  conditions,  he  told  me  plainly  that 
the  security  of  his  country  imposed  upon  him  the  necessity  of 
retaining  the  territory  which  would  guarantee  the  same.  He 
repeated  several  times  :  Strasburg  is  the  key  of  the  house.  (I 
said  our  house.)  I  begged  him  to  speak  still  more  plainly. 
That  is  useless,  he  replied,  as  we  cannot  come  to  an  understand- 
ing; that  is  a  matter  that  can  be  settled  later.  I  requested  him 
to  do  so  immediately.  (The  following  is  given  in  italics  in  the 
article.)  He  then  said  to  me  that  the  departments  of  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Rhine  and  a  portion  of  the  Moselle  department,  with 
Metz,  Chateau  Salins,  and  Soissons  (incorrect,  it  was  Saarge- 
mund  which  was  mentioned)  were  indispensable  to  him,  and 
that  he  could  not  forego  them.'  " 

About  the  same  time,  probably  shortly  before  the  above  arti- 
cle was  written,  the  following  communique  was  prepared  for  the 
Norddciitsche  AUgoneiiie  Zeitung  under  the  instructions  from 
the  Chief,  who  also  saw  and  corrected  it  before  it  was  sent  to 
the  press.  He  struck  out  the  portions  within  brackets,  although 
they  were  almost  literally  his  own  words :  "  Reports  reach  us 
daily  of  bad  treatment  and  serious  prejudice  to  their  rights  to 
which  the  Germans  in  France,  and  particularly  those  in  Paris, 
are  subjected.  Bankers  dismiss  German  clerks  who  have 
served  them  long  and  faithfully ;  manufacturers  announce  that 
they  will  no  longer  employ  German  workpeople ;  even  acade- 
mies and  institutions,  centres  of  French  learning  (and,  as  one 
would  wish  to  think,  of  French  wisdom),  indulge  in  anti-German 
demonstrations,  and  decline  in  future  to  elect  any  corresponding 
members  from  among  the  German  citizens  of  the  Universal 
Republic  of  Letters.     All  these,  more  or  less  petty  expressions 

VOL.  I.  —  2  K 


498  RETALIATION   THREATKNED  [June  30 

of  bitter  resentment,  may  be  merely  regarded  as  symptoms  of 
a  feeling,  which  is  of  significance  for  the  future,  and  against 
which  we  must  secure  ourselves.  But  the  French,  and  particu- 
larly the  Parisians,  have  gone  further  in  the  petty  warfare, 
which  they  carry  on  in  continuation  of  the  great  war  now  con- 
cluded. Incited  by  an  unbridled  press,  they  have  permitted 
themselves  to  adopt  towards  those  Germans  who  have  returned 
to  France,  either  to  put  their  affairs  in  order,  or  to  reopen  busi- 
ness, an  attitude  which  would  be  regarded  by  civilised  nations 
as  improper,  even  in  time  of  war.  They  have  prevented  Ger- 
mans from  opening  their  shops,  and  have  wrecked  German 
establishments.  They  have  prohibited  other  Germans  from 
attending  the  Bourse,  and  have  arrested  harmless  German  sub- 
jects, simply  because  they  were  German.  That  is  not  an  affair 
of  the  future,  but  of  the  immediate  present,  and  demands  im- 
mediate redress.  We  have  concluded  peace,  and  we  honestly 
and  sincerely  desire  to  maintain  it,  but  of  course,  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  French  people  preserve  this  peace,  which  was 
sought  for  and  demanded  by  their  Government.  If  the  offences 
in  question  are  not  (speedily  and  thoroughly)  checked,  and 
if  the  French  Government  docs  not  protect  peaceful  and 
law-abiding  Germans,  we  must,  in  the  interest  of  German  sub- 
jects, and  in  view  of  the  honour  of  Germany,  decide  upon  the 
reprisals  to  be  exercised.  We  should  not  be  surprised  if,  then, 
for  every  German  illegally  arrested  and  not  released  immedi- 
ately uj)on  representations  being  made,  arrests  of  French  citi- 
zens were  ordered  in  those  districts  of  France  which  we  tem- 
porarily occupy.  We  should  not  consider  it  out  of  order,  if  the 
evacuation  of  certain  departments  were  postponed  until  these 
passions  had  calmed  down,  and  indeed,  according  to  circum- 
stances, these  regrettable  occurrences  might  lead  to  fresh  action 
against  Paris,  which  is  the  seat  of  the  evil." 

June  24///.  —  Wrote  the  following  article  for  Brass  from 
materials  supplied  by  the  Chief,  whose  attention  was  called  to 
the  matter  by  an  article  in  the  SchlesiscJic  Zcituui^,  on  "  Napo- 
leon and  the  Men  of  the  4th  of  September ":  "  Trochu's 
attempt  to  exculpate  himself  before  the  bar  of  public  opinion 
has  failed  conclusively.  His  sj)eech  only  confirmed  the  fact 
that  he  had  betrayed  the  P^mperor  by  using,  in  order  to  bring 
about  his  fall,  the  forces  entrusted  to  him.      It  was  principally 


1S71  I  TKOCIIU'S    AI'(JL()GIA  499 

throui^h  the  men  on  the  4th  of  September  that  he  came  to  the 
head  of  affairs.  He  was  chiefly  res{)onsible  for  the  continua- 
tion of  the  war  from  that  date.  And  in  addition  to  his  treason 
came  his  incapacity.  He  was  constantly  giving  assurances  that 
he  had  plans  which  would  infallibly  succeed,  and  yet  when 
they  were  carried  out  not  one  of  them  was  really  successful. 
When  he  finally,  however,  with  brazen  impudence,  charges  the 
Prussians  with  having  supported  the  Commune  and  with  com- 
plicity in  the  scenes  of  terror  enacted  since  the  outbreak  of  the 
Socialist  conspiracy,  it  may  be  pointed  out  (i)  that  German 
policy  would  have  incurred  no  reproach  before  Europe  if  it  had 
shown  a  certain  readiness  to  meet  the  Commune  during  the 
first  weeks  following  the  i8th  of  March,  when  it  had  not  as  yet 
disclosed  its  true  nature,  particularly  as  there  appeared  to  be 
very  little  good  will  and  very  considerable  equivocation  on  the 
other  side;  (2)  that  there  has  been  no  question  of  any  kind 
of  complaisance  on  the  part  of  the  Germans  towards  the 
Commune,  to  say  nothing  of  an  understanding  or  of  support, 
and  that  on  the  contrary  everything  which  was  permissible  in 
the  circumstances  was  done  to  assist  the  Versailles  Government 
in  its  preparations  to  suppress  the  rising,  and  during  the  fight- 
ing itself.  It  is  therefore  to  be  expected  that  the  members  of 
the  French  Government,  who  are  better  informed,  will  contra- 
dict the  assertions  of  the  General,  which  if  not  mendacious  are 
at  least  utterly  erroneous.  We  still  await  such  a  correction.  If 
this  disavowal  were  not  made,  we  should  consider  it  desirable 
that  the  matter  should  be  taken  up  on  the  German  side  and 
that  those  diplomatic  documents  should  be  published  which 
show  that  assistance  was  really  given  and  in  what  manner,  and 
that  this  was  done  at  the  wish  and  request  of  the  Versailles 
Government." 

June  30///.  —  During  the  last  few  days  again  read  a  number 
of  interesting  documents  despatched  and  received.  Tauff- 
kirchen,  the  Bavarian  representative  at  the  Curia,  reported 
from  Rome  on  the  21st  inst.  that  the  Pope  had  spoken  to  him 
on  the  previous  day  of  the  danger  by  which  society  was  threat- 
ened by  the  Communists.  "  They  are,"  he  said,  as  he  drove 
away  some  flies  from  his  table,  "  like  these  insects.  It  is  no  use 
to  kill  a  few,  still  less  to  drive  them  away.  General  measures 
must   be  taken   to   prevent  their  entrance    and    propagation." 


500  ITALY'S  NEW  CAPITAL  [July  5 

Respecting  the  removal  of  the  Italian  Government  to  Rome,  a 
recent  despatch  says  that  if  the  King  proceeds  thither  the  for- 
eign representatives  will  follow  him  in  accordance  with  diplo- 
matic custom.  If  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  were  to 
reside  there  without  the  sovereign,  it  would  then  depend  upon 
the  requirements  of  business  whether,  and  for  how  long,  an 
envoy  would  go  to  Rome  for  purposes  of  personal  communica- 
tion. France  and  Austria  had  instructed  their  representatives 
to  follow  the  Minister  to  Rome,  irrespective  of  the  circumstance 
whether  Victor  Emmanuel  went  there  or  not ;  in  that  case,  how- 
ever, they  were  to  take  leave  of  absence,  leaving  a  substitute  in 
charge.  A  despatch  from  Waldersee,  dated  the  25th  instant, 
contains  the  following  sentence :  "  It  is  not  in  the  interest  of 
the  Empire  that  the  different  Federal  States  should  maintain 
separate  envoys  abroad.  We  may,  however,  await  their  gradual 
disappearance  as  a  work  of  time,  and  as  the  result  of  the  Budget 
debates  in  the  several  States."  According  to  a  report  from 
Tauffkirchen,  Prince  Lowenstein-Heubach,  who  has  gone  to 
Rome  on  behalf  of  the  Clericals,  threatened  Cardinal  Antonelli 
with  the  consequences  of  any  disavowal  of  the  Centre  party  in 
the  Reichstag. 

July  2nd.  —  The  Chief  asked  me  yesterday  if  I  had  not,  in 
accordance  with  his  instructions,  informed  Brass  ^  that  he  should 
cease  his  attacks  upon  the  French  Government.  I  replied : 
"  Yes,  several  times,  both  by  letter  and  verbally."  He  then 
said :  "  That  must  be  put  a  stop  to.  But  I  believe  he  is  paid 
by  Napoleon."  To-day  he  wished  me  to  send  Brass  the  follow- 
ing article,  for  which  he  gave  me  the  ideas:  "There  has  been 
much  discussion  of  the  question,  whether  the  war  indemnity 
imposed  upon  ?>ance  by  Germany  is  too  high,  and  whether  the 
former  will  be  able  to  bear  the  burden  of  those  five  milliards. 
Some  answer  the  question  in  the  affirmative,  some  in  the  nega- 
tive, while  others  remain  in  doubt.  Now,  however,  we  may  con- 
sider the  point  as  settled,  by  the  programme  which  M.  Thiers 
has  submitted  to  the  National  Assembly,  first,  as  regards 
the  loan,  and  the  financial  position  of  France,  and  then  with 
respect  to  the  future  of  the  country  in  general.  Undoubtedly 
France  is  obliged  to  exercise  greater  economy  than  she  has 
hitherto  done.     She  must  increase  the  productiveness  of   her 

'  The  editor  of  tlie  North  German  Gazette. 


1871J  FRKNCII    ARMAMENTS  501 

resources,  and  administer  them  with  the  utmost  care.  Notwith- 
standing this,  M.  Thiers  has  no  idea  whatever  of  reducin^^  the 
army  or  the  navy,  which  nevertheless  offer  the  largest  field  for 
economies.  On  the  contrary,  he  desires  to  bring  both  up  to  the 
highest  figure  they  have  yet  reached,  and  to  keep  them  at  that 
point,  and  what  is  more,  he  wishes  to  have  the  army  reinforced 
by  a  reserve  of  900,000  men.  This  clearly  proves  to  us  that 
the  idea  of  France  being  entitled  to  dominate  Europe  has  by 
no  means  been  given  up  in  Government  circles  at  Versailles, 
and  that  now,  as  formerly,  they  hold  fast  to  the  statement  in 
which  M.  Thiers  during  his  autumn  tour  expressed  the  hope 
and  self-confidence  of  the  French  politician  :  ^L" Europe  nc  vent 
fas  cJiangcr de  maitrc'  Indeed,  now  that  the  French  Govern- 
ment thinks  of  submitting  the  same  military  budget,  and  the 
French  seem  to  consider  that  they  can  bear  their  old  military 
burdens  even  under  more  unfavourable  conditions  than  prevailed 
formerly,  the  indemnity  demanded  must  be  regarded  rather  as 
too  low  than  too  high.  Moreover,  France  is  nowhere  endan- 
gered or  threatened,  and  these  formidable  armaments  can  there- 
fore only  betray  aggressive  aspirations,  the  expression  of  which 
must  be  looked  upon  as  a  direct  threat  to  her  neighbours.  On 
both  these  grounds  there  ceases  in  our  opinion  to  be  any  moral 
obligation  to  show  indulgence  in  the  matter  of  the  indemnity." 

July  <)ih. — This  afternoon  Keudell  brought  down  from  the 
Chief  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  NorddcutscJie  Allge- 
viciiic  Zeitung  of  the  2nd  inst.,  which  began  with  the  words 
"  Der  Telegraph."  The  Chief  had  written  on  the  margin : 
"This  article  is  contrary  to  the  instructions  given.  The  Minis- 
ter of  the  Interior  is  to  be  written  to  respecting  a  warning  to  the 
editorial  staff,  or  the  withdrawal  of  all  favours.  Strict  daily 
supervision  necessary."  Keudell  said  the  Chancellor  was  furi- 
ous with  Brass,  and  almost  believed  that  he  was  paid  by 
Napoleon  to  make  mischief  between  ourselves  and  Versailles. 
He  then  begged  me  to  write  the  necessary  letter  to  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior. 

The  article  of  the  2nd  of  July  was  the  last  which  I  wrote 
for  the  Foreign  Office  from  the  direct  personal  instructions  of 
the  Chancellor.  From  that  time  forward  the  direct  intercourse 
with  the  Chancellor,  which  I  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  new  "Press  Councillor,"  Aegidi,  who  had  been 


502  AEGIDI  [July  5 

here  for  some  weeks,  but  had  not  been  received  by  the  Prince 
until  eight  or  ten  days  after  his  arrival,  and  who,  even  then, 
was  not  employed  immediately. 

I  did  not  know  at  the  time  what  was  the  reason  of  the 
change,  and  Bucher  also  was  unable  to  explain  it.  He  was 
afterwards  of  opinion  that  Aegidi  was  introduced  by  Keudell, 
who  intended  to  leave  the  Foreign  Office  and  take  an  appoint- 
ment abroad,  in  order  that  he  might  be  kept  informed  of  what 
was  going  on  here.  It  would  be  his  business  also  to  see  that 
the  press  men  should  not  cease  to  accord  him  that  recognition 
which  he,  as  Personal  Councillor,  Treasurer,  and  Administrator 
of  Pensions,  was  accustomed  to  receive  from  time  to  time,  but 
that  it  should,  on  the  contrary,  continue  to  flow  in  a  stronger 
and  deeper  stream,  I  cannot  say  whether  the  former  surmise 
was  correct.  I  will  show  later  on,  when  I  come  to  deal  with 
Herr  von  Keudell  himself,  that  the  other  point  did  not  remain 
any  mere  suspicion.  For  the  present  I  will  only  remark  that 
the  censer,  which  used  to  be  swung  before  the  latter  in  the 
press,  was  much  more  frequently  in  use  after  the  arrival  of  his 
pr-ot^gi  in  Berlin,  and  that  the  smoke  of  the  incense  recalled  in 
a  very  suspicious  way  Aegidi's  own  style.  (...) 

James  Ludwig  Carl  Aegidi,  a  Protestant,  son  of  a  doctor  in 
Freienwalde,  was  born  in  1825.  He  studied  law  at  Konigsberg, 
Heidelberg,  and  Berlin,  and  was  married  to  a  Fraulein  von 
Senden,  a  cousin  of  Keudell's.  ...  A  few  days  after  Aegidi's 
arrival  Keudell,  speaking  of  him  to  me,  credited  him  with 
"  exceptional  scientific  knowledge,  relations  with  almost  all 
literary  circles,  and  the  tact  which  was  desirable  for  mediating 
between  the  Chief  and  the  daily  press." 

The  following  chapters  will  show  the  nature  of  those  rela- 
tions and  this  tact.  Let  one  proof  suffice  for  the  moment. 
Some  months  after  the  appointment  of  the  new  Councillor  the 
following  was  to  be  read  in  the  Spenersche  Zeitung,  with  which 
he  had  exceptionally  intimate  relations:  "A  Berlin  correspond- 
ent of  the  Pester  Lloyd,  recalling  the  circumstance  that  the 
Norddcictschc  Allgcttwine  Zeitung,  which  is  regarded  as  a  semi- 
official organ,  received  some  sharply  worded  dementis  during 
the  summer  of  the  present  year,  draws  attention  to  the  fact  that 
for  a  short  time  past  the  journal  in  question  has  again  come 
to  be  considered  as  official  in  the  highest  sense.     The  corre- 


1S71J  fcllOULD    I   RESIGN?  503 

spondent  writes  that,  '  Since  Professor  Aegidi,  who  is  at  the 
same  time  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  respected  of  German 
professors  of  law  and  a  spirited  publicist,  has  been  in  charge  of 
the  press  department  of  the  Foreign  Office,  much  more  atten- 
tion has  again  been  paid  to  the  newspapers.  He  has  taken 
care,  in  particular,  to  maintain  a  certain  continuity  of  views  in 
the  official  press.  The  Norddeiitsche  Allgemeinc  Zcitung  has 
again  become  the  principal  official  organ,  and  since  the  ist  of 
December  all  the  leading  articles  published  under  the  heading 
"Political  News  of  the  Day,"  dealing  with  foreign  affairs,  the 
affairs  of  the  Empire,  the  relations  of  the  Federal  States  to  the 
President  of  the  Council,  as  well  as  those  on  Church  and  State, 
may  be  considered  as  the  direct  expression  of  the  views  held 
by  the  highest  officials  of  the  Empire.'  The  correspondent 
states  he  is  informed,  on  trustworthy  authority,  that  for  the 
most  part  Professor  Aegidi  himself  edits  the  '  Political  News  of 
the  Day,'  utilising  for  the  purpose  the  information  which  he 
receives  direct  from  the  Chancellor." 

The  Chief  was  beside  himself  at  this  article.  Aegidi  was 
summoned  before  him,  and  returned  —  as  a  gentleman  in  the 
Central  Bureau  remarked  —  looking  quite  crestfallen  and  red  in 
the  face.  He  denied  that  he  had  prompted  the  communication 
in  the  Pester  Lloyd.  We  soon  ascertained,  however,  that  it  had 
emanated  from  one  Julius  L.,  a  writer  of  the  lowest  rank  and 
the  most  unenviable  reputation,  who  had  formerly  served  Keu- 
dell,  and  was  now  intimately  associated  with  Aegidi. 

I  ought,  perhaps,  to  have  now  tendered  my  resignation. 
Certain  considerations,  however,  prevented  my  doing  so  for 
some  time.  There  was  still  something  for  me  to  learn,  and  I 
soon  observed  that  I  could  yet  do  good  service.  It  was  also 
conceivable  that  my  old  relations  with  the  Prince  might  be  re- 
stored, as  a  man  of  Aegidi's  character,  with  his  self-seeking, 
mercurial  exuberance  of  zeal,  and  his  almost  Jewish  vanity, 
would  sooner  or  later  render  himself  impossible.  I  therefore 
remained,  and  fell  in  with  the  wish  of  the  Councillor  to  "  enter 
into  friendly  relations  with  him,"  so  far  as  that  was  possible. 
Subsequently,  however,  when  he  attempted  to  give  me  instruc- 
tions, as  a  kind  of  superior,  I  once  and  for  all  entered  an  ener- 
getic protest  against  such  presumption,  and  declared  that  I 
could  only  carry  out  such  instructions   as  he  could  assure  me 


504  I   DECIDE  TO   REMAIN  [July  5,  1871 

were  the  direct  expression  of  the  Chief's  desire,  thus  taking  up 
a  position  towards  him  not  of  subordination,  but  of  equaHty.  I 
did  well  in  deciding  to  remain  yet  a  while.  I  learnt  a  great  deal 
more,  as  I  still  had  access  to  the  documents  received  and  de- 
spatched, and  became  more  and  more  intimate  with  Bucher. 
The  hoped-for  opportunities  of  serving  the  Chief  at  the  same 
time  as  the  representative  of  Keudell's  interests,  and  without 
his  knowledge,  occurred  more  frequently  than  I  had  expected, 
although  my  personal  intercourse  with  the  Chief  was  not  re- 
newed for  the  time  being. 


END    OF    VOL.    I. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 

COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


JAN    7  '83  14  DAY 
i'"^  1  4  83  RLC  CL 


;ba 


u\)^^ 


1  ^  ^:]V  '84  RiC  CL 
MAR '85  14  DAY 

10w«35RECCL 

14DAV  ^P^^  1.  ^  ''^ 

REC'D  CL  MAR  0  2 '^8 


UhV 


Book  Slip      Hi'iies  42.S() 


UCLA-Co««0«  Library 

DO  218  B96bE  v.1 


L  005  667  154  8 


AA      000  149  550    b 


